After tying up three guards, bandits yesterday morning broke into the Lusignan/Reconnaissance Neighbourhood Dem-ocratic Council (NDC) office and stole a digital camera, a grass cutter and fuel pump after finding an empty safe, which they believed had contained $16 million.
Stabroek News was told that the three men, armed with a gun, crowbar and a piece of wood, entered the compound of the NDC office around 1.30am.
Seeraj Bhimsain, a guard who was on duty at the time, told Stabroek News that he had heard the dogs barking. Upon investigating, he was greeted with a gun pointed to his face. He said the gunman, who was not masked, told him “don’t shout, don’t holler.” He added that two of the men had kerchiefs tied around their faces.
He said the bandits asked if there were any other persons in the compound and he pointed to two other guards, who were guarding the practical institute building. Both guards were escorted to the shed where Bhimsain was and they were tied up.
Bhimsain said the bandits tied his hands and feet with a piece of cloth, while the other guards were tied up also with pieces of cloth as well as wire.
He said one of the bandits stood guard, while the other two entered the NDC office.
“They were trying to go through the windows because the window panes were removed. They couldn’t get to go in because it is grilled, so they broke the lock of the door and went inside,” Parisarm Ramkissoon, the NDC overseer, told Stabroek News.
He said that once in the building, the men broke into his office. It was there that they broke the padlock of the safe in search of the money and stole a digital camera that was on the desk. He added that they also stole a Stihl grass-cutter and a fuel pump from the storerooms.
Before escaping, the men also robbed the security guards of their cellular phones and whatever cash was found on them.
According to Bhimsain, when the bandits returned, he overheard one of them tell his accomplice, “she told me they get 16 million in there and it ain’t get nothing.”
Bhimsain added that prior to the robbery, he saw a white Toyota 212 at the junction close to the NDC but did not pay any attention to it since it was a norm for cars to be at the junction. He said after the bandits left the compound, he observed that it was the same car that picked up the men and aided in their getaway.
The man further stated that he managed to free himself and then freed the other guards before contacting the Vigilance Police Station, which responded promptly.
Investigators returned later yesterday morning and dusted for fingerprints.
When Stabroek News visited the office yesterday, workers were replacing the locks of the doors and the louvre panes that were removed.
