Two motorcycle bandits snatched over $5M in cash from the proprietor of Deokie Service Station (Rubis) yesterday morning as she stopped along the Land of Canaan Public Road on her way to a commercial bank and while one of the suspects was apprehended, the other managed to escape.
Reports reaching Stabroek News revealed that the incident took place around 9 am yesterday while Sophia Deokie, 32, proprietor of Deokie Service Station (Rubis), Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara and an employee were on their way to Demerara Bank’s, Diamond branch to deposit the cash.
Deokie chased after the bandits who eventually rode through a street in Sarah Johanna, where they abandoned the motorcycle and escaped into the nearby bushes.
However, with a prompt response from law enforcers and the assistance of several friends, one of the suspects was held and handed over to the police.
The police were up to late yesterday afternoon combing the bushes in Land of Canaan and nearby areas in search of the second suspect. The motorcycle which was used to commit the crime was also recovered.
Deokie related to Stabroek News yesterday that the cash constituted the sales for the entire weekend.
She explained that she and the employee were on their way to the bank in a car driven by her when they stopped along the Land of Canaan Public Road to drop off a document at Cummings Wood Products. “We made a stop at Cummings Wood Products because I had to stop to drop off a statement and my staff came out the car. Like everything just happen so fast, when I stop there he (the staff) ran over the road to drop off the statement but before I coulda close the door, the guy (bandit) did already take the money out from the back seat”, she said.
At this point, Deokie said she noticed a motorcycle was parked in front her, with the waiting accomplice. “So as my staff came out, he (the bandit) grabbed the bag…. the door open one came out and one came in”, she added.
According to Deokie she did not realize she had been robbed until she saw the suspect with the haversack, standing outside of the car. “He move real slick”, Deokie noted, while explaining that the bandit did not attempt to harm her in any way.
“He was moving like really slow, like he realize I really was clueless”, she added.
Upon realising she had been robbed, Deokie said she started to call for help and the bandit joined his accomplice on the motorcycle and sped away. “They jump on the motor bike right in front of me, well they took off, I call for help but nobody came fast enough, so I track them (the bandits) down while I call police and stuff”, she said.
Deokie further explained that she chased after the bandits for about five minutes after which they rode through a street in Sarah Johanna and abandoned the motorcycle before plunging into the nearby bushes. “I was kinda approaching them, they thought I woulda hit them down, so they end up branching off to a street and they drop the bike and by then police came and whatever”, she related.
She said while she was chasing the men, she called several relatives including her brother-in-law who telephoned residents in the area for assistance. “They know I was trailing them. While I was doing that I was calling for back up help……my brother-in-law call some people he know in the area and they came out and we catch them by time that, the police come and take him away”, Deokie said.
“I block off the other side of the road with my car so they didn’t had anywhere to go except the bush and by then my brother-in-law came, he called up a lot of people in the village and everybody came out and some guys with firearms and so start search the area and they found this one (suspect in custody), he was hiding in the bush”, she added.
She said that the suspect in custody was the one who snatched the bag of cash from the car but at the time of his arrest, he did not have the bag in his possession. Deokie suspected that she was trailed.
A security guard who wished not to be named said she was inside when she heard someone screaming. “When I go inside and I come out back then I hear they saying that somebody just get rob and them men that went out deh seh like is she (Deokie)”, the woman said.
Meanwhile a resident of Sarah Johanna said she was cooking when she noticed the two bandits abandoning the motorcycle. “All is see when the motorcycle go in down deh and the boy them (bandits) scatter up and run in the bush”, she said.
Up to last evening, there was no official word from the police on the incident.