Five gunmen on Monday evening invaded a Blairmont, Region Five business and robbed a family, leaving some persons with minor injuries about their bodies.
Nadir Hussain, 50, who is attached to the Blairmont Estate, explained that he and his wife Raywattie Persaud, also known as ‘Babita’, 49, a businesswoman of Lot 39 Number 4 Settlement, Blairmont, West Bank Berbice, operate Babita’s General Store on the lower flat of their house.
He said that on Monday he was about to close their gate when he saw five men armed with handguns approaching him.
“Five guy masks up with five gun approach me and one lock me off by my neck and carry me in the yard and my wife did sit right in the yard. The other guy pull my wife by her jacket and drag her in.”
According to Hussain, they were held in the shop at gunpoint as one of the bandits continued to choke him until he almost lost his breath.
“The rest of them proceeded to ransack all the drawers and the shelves, all the bag that hang up and them use the back door to go into the kitchen and them ransack the chest of drawers and go till upstairs till in the front room and all valuable them carry away.
Stabroek News was told that the men carted off a total of $3m in cash along with about $4m of jewellery and an undisclosed amount of phone cards along with about seven cellular phones that were in the house.
In addition to that, Persaud reported that she also lost one Samsung S21 cellphone valued at $100,000, one A21 cellphone without a SIM card valued at $55,000 and one gold wedding ring valued at $50,000.
Hussain, also lost one A50 cellphone valued at $55,000, while a customer at the shop, Mohammed Laikraj, also known as ‘David’, 28, a beekeeper of Blairmont, West Bank Berbice, lost one cell phone valued at $40,000 and one gold chain valued at $75,000.
Hussain yesterday noted that the entire ordeal lasted about twenty minutes.
“Same time two customer come in and them carry them in the shop and one was a handicap and them start to harass him and my wife had to tell them that he’s a handicap ‘ayo na do he nothing’ and then the other boy (Laikraj) one bandit stay with he and them take away he chain and wallet.”
Hussain said his neighbour’s dog also attempted to attack the men and when the neighbour ventured over to collect his dog he was also held at gunpoint.
“We try to contact the police (Blairmont Police Station) and the line did busy for a while but when we get them, them say the team deh on the road and then them take a while then come”, Hussain added.
A traumatized Persaud yesterday told Stabroek News that the men just rushed in and locked off her husband on his neck while pointing a gun towards her.
“Them collect me and hold me pon the jacket by my back and pull me carry me in the shop and them knock me husband on he head and he start bleed plenty and me stretch me hand and hold pon am and me start beg them not to do him anything because me husband a travel with pressure.”
She continued, “All over them ransacked and find all the money, me had three bags wah me does go do business with depends on what business, all had money and all them empty, them juk out the draws, all them drawers we had jewellery and money.”
Both Hussain and Persaud sustained minor injuries during the incident as they were both assaulted with the gun.
The suspects eventually escaped on foot in an eastern direction towards the Ithaca koker.
Police yesterday said that the area was canvassed for CCTV cameras, but none was found. Searches for the suspects were conducted in surrounding areas while “assistance was also sought from Region No. 6 Marine Patrol, but the suspects were not found.”
