Seven persons including a teenager are now in custody in connection with the robbery committed on an Albion, Corentyne, businesswoman on Monday morning in front of Republic Bank at Rose Hall, Corentyne.
Commander of Region Six, Boodnarine Persaud yesterday told Stabroek News that police initially arrested six suspects who are known characters, some of whom were noticed in the vicinity of the bank on CCTV footage.
On Monday evening, police acting on information proceeded to a location in Toopoo Albion, Corentyne, where the motorcycle which is suspected to have been used in the robbery was discovered submerged in a trench. Upon checking the motorcycle an identification card was located inside the seat.
According to him, police ventured to a location where it is suspected that the holder of the ID card resides. A teenager, a relative of the suspect, was questioned and arrested.
He said that they have since noted the identification numbers to contact the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to figure out whether the motorcycle is registered, and if so, in whose name.
Persaud also noted that they are investigating the possibility of someone from the inside being involved or providing information to the perpetrators. “We are looking at the inside part of it, not necessarily looking at a staged robbery but we’re doing work on the inside because of the way the robbery occurred, it seems someone could have traced them or someone gave information all of that is possible”, he said while stressing that they are looking at all angles.
Nalini Mangali, 43, of Albion Front, Corentyne, along with a female staffer were heading to the bank with a bag containing the cash to deposit it at the location just around 10 am on Monday when they were attacked and robbed.
Stabroek News was told that after they arrived at the entrance to the bank, an unidentified man armed with a handgun approached them and pushed the female staffer to the ground as she was exiting the back seat of the vehicle. He then grabbed the bag containing the cash which was on the back seat and escaped.
Persons within the area had told Stabroek News that the perpetrator escaped on a motorcycle that was being ridden by another male and was waiting for him a short distance away from the bank. They reportedly rode south and escaped at the back of Rose Hall Town.
A total of 18.577m in cash along with a number of cheques were stolen from the woman.
Meanwhile, Persaud yesterday stated that the police posture will be boosted in the bank area. He added that they have encountered some difficulties with the quality of CCTV footage and he encouraged persons and commercial banks to invest in high-quality surveillance equipment.
