Three men accused of robbing a group of businessmen of millions in cash and other valuables at a birthday party at La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara during last week were on Monday charged and remanded to prison.
Nkofi Gonsalves, 24, a construction worker of Lot 339 Area G, Melanie, ECD; Alex Sylvail, 34, a mechanic of Lot 113 North Melanie, ECD and Matthew Baptiste, 18, a security guard of Lot 114 North Melanie, ECD appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
The three were charged jointly with four counts of armed robbery. They denied the allegations and were remanded to prison.
The matter was postponed to June 28th.
The robbery occurred around 1.30am on June 8th at Fourth Street, LBI, ECD.
The businessmen were identified as 36-year-old Michael Kunjbehari of Fourth Street, Turkeyen, Georgetown; Robin Satrohan, 32, of Cummings Lodge, Georgetown; Ryan Jahurali, 30, of Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara; 36-year-old Everton Singh-Lammy of Kitty; John Ali of Prashad Nagar; Mario Joseph, 31 of Well Road, Ogle, ECD; 27-year-old Ramsammy (only name given), a Canadian citizen and Anthony Joseph, 32 of Fourth Street, Alexander Village, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
They were robbed of 5 cellphones, 2 laptops, 3 gold rings, and 3 gold chains worth millions, in addition to one black bag and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The police in a statement had said that enquiries disclosed that the businessmen, along with five other friends were celebrating a birthday when four armed men entered the house through an unlocked backdoor and relieved them of their valuables.
The bandits then escaped in a waiting motorcar.
The matter was reported to the police after which one of the victims tracked his phone to an abandoned house in Plum Park, Sophia, Georgetown, where a red Digicel bag was found containing the two laptops, three cellphones and an ID card.
The bag was then taken to the Beterverwagting Police Station where it was also photographed and dusted for fingerprints.
Hours after the robbery, ranks from the Vigilance Police Station acting on information received went to a house in North Melanie, ECD where the three suspects were apprehended and taken to the Beterverwagting police station.
They were then identified by the businessmen as the perpetrators.
One of the victims, Singh-Lammy had told Stabroek News that at the time of the robbery, they were at the bottom flat of a building when four men with guns barged into the house and relieved them of their personal items.
The robbery appeared to be an inside job.
