The police today said that five persons from the East Coast are in custody and over $7m in cash was recovered following a robbery at Coghlan Dam, West Bank Demerara on Thursday.
In a press release, the police said that $10.2m in cash and a quantity of gold jewellery valued at $680,000, property of the businessman; and $2.8M and a quantity of gold jewellery valued at $980,000, property of his wife were stolen during the robbery.
The incident occurred between 8 am and 9 am on 2022/10/20. Police say that the victim lives in a one-flat concrete and wooden building, facing north in a well-fenced yard. It features two wooden doors, one to the north and one to the south, both of which are secured internally and externally by tower bolts and manufacturer locks, respectively.
On Thursday, the businessman’s wife secured the home and went to Vreed-en-Hoop. About 9 am, she returned home and discovered the top half of her back door had been wrenched off. Further checks in the home revealed that her bedroom alone had been ransacked and the items were missing from a bag in a wardrobe and the jewellery from the vanity.
During the ongoing investigations, the police say that over $7m in cash was recovered by cops.
On Friday, between 2 pm and 7.30 pm, further investigations were carried out in respect of the said robbery and the two main suspects — a 20-year-old barber and a 45-year-old farmer of Coldingen, East Coast Demerara (ECD) were arrested and interviewed.
The suspects took the Police to their Coldingen residence. One of the suspects (the barber) pointed out two areas in his yard where he dug up and handed over to the Police $1,160,000, and $1,495,000 respectively and a quantity of gold jewellery.
The suspect’s mother, a cleaner who also resides at Coldingen, handed over $1,225,000.
The other suspect (the farmer) took the Police to an area on his farm where he dug and nothing was found. However, his wife — a 47-year-old vendor, handed over $1,495,000 and a quantity of gold jewellery; and her adopted brother, a 38-year-old of Non Pariel, ECD handed over $1,660,000, which they claimed were given to them.
Statements were taken, the suspects were arrested and investigations continue.