A Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara businesswoman was robbed at her home after returning from a commercial bank on Wednesday morning.
Commander of ‘D’ Division Richie Das last night said police are currently searching for two suspects, who committed the crime around 11.36 am on Wednesday.
The bandits pounced on businesswoman Shamini Persaud, who had just returned home in a taxi from the Vreed-en- Hoop branch of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI).
As the car stopped at the woman’s home, the bandits, who were following on a CG motorcycle, stopped behind it. The pillion rider jumped off the motorcycle, Das said, and he held Persaud at gunpoint in the rear passenger seat and collected her bag, which contained $500,000. The gunman also robbed the taxi driver of his cellular phone and car key.
Persaud told Stabroek News that on Wednesday she was conducting some business in Vreed-en-Hoop and visited Republic Bank and GBTI to uplift a bank statement.
She explained that after leaving the bank, she took a taxi home and she was about to pay the driver when she was attacked.
“I was about to pay the driver and the right side of the passenger door opened. About half of the bandit body was in the car and he placed the gun to my neck and collected my bag and an envelope… it happened within seconds,” she explained.
According to Persaud, the envelope the men carted off contained important documents, such as her passport and her husband’s passport along with her children’s US passports and clinic cards. The envelope also contained her bank statements, bank books and business registration.
“I believe I was followed from the bank because I spent 15 minutes inside Republic Bank and about another half an hour inside GBTI before coming home,” she said. She, however, believes that the bandits stayed some distance away to avoid being noticed and only got close when the car stopped.
The woman said she screamed during the robbery but by the time residents responded the bandits had already escaped. She stated that the police arrived within minutes.
