Three gun-toting bandits last night invaded the Indra Grocery and Beer Garden in Canefield, East Canje, Berbice, and robbed the owners and about 22 customers of a quantity of jewellery, cash and cellphones before stealing a customer’s car to escape.
A police source told Stabroek News that three suspects have since been arrested, while the stolen car was found at the Edinburgh Housing Scheme, East Bank Berbice. The source said that the suspects hail from Canje and New Amsterdam.
Just after 10:30pm, three men with bandannas tied around their faces and armed with two guns and a cutlass, invaded the Galaxy Street, Canefield Settlement business place, which also houses a Superbet, and ordered all the customers to lay on the ground. Stabroek News was told that several young men were standing in front of the beer garden when the bandits arrived, cranked their guns and ordered them to head inside.
After ordering everyone to lay face down, the bandits then forced them to hand over their cell phones, money and jewellery they had in their possession.
According to information gathered, one bandit then stood guard over the customers, while the two others accompanied the owners’ daughter-in-law to the upper flat of the building.
One of the gunmen also reportedly struck one of the owners, Indra Seelochan, several times to her face as they ordered her and her husband to lay face down in the lower flat of the house during the robbery. The men then ransacked the entire house and carted off a sum of cash and jewellery from the owners.
During the robbery, the bandits also collected several car keys from customers and Stabroek News was told that they used a blue Allion belonging to a Canefield resident to escape.
Upon driving out of Galaxy Street, two customers hopped onto a motorcycle and pursued the car, Stabroek News was told. However, they lost track of the bandits on the Canje Public Road.
Meanwhile, according to a few of the customers, earlier on Saturday evening, three strange persons were noticed walking through Galaxy Street and heading into a cross street located next to the beer garden, after which they suddenly disappeared. It is suspected that the men hid at the street until they were ready to carry out their attack.
The police are continuing their investigation.
