Police are on the hunt for three armed men who reportedly executed a daring robbery on an Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara (WBD) businesswoman and a housewife on Wednesday evening.
The businesswoman was robbed of $900,000 cash, a quantity of gold jewellery and two mobile phones, while the housewife was relieved of one pair of gold earrings, one electronic tablet, one hand purse containing two silver bands, a pair of earrings and $20,000 cash.
Speaking with this publication, the victim the businesswoman related that at the time of the robbery, she was in the company of her five-year-old daughter, her 21-year-old daughter-in-law Sofie Lakhram, who has a 10-month-old baby, and her visiting friend, Tracy.
“When they come in, I was sitting in the chair [in the house], Tracy was sitting in the chair in the veranda. They come in…enter the door. The first one come in, he hold on pon me and put the gun to me. The second one come in behind, and he scramble Tracy, hold she by she top, pull she in the house with me, and start demanding.”
The woman related that prior to making demands, the bandits began emptying her friend’s bag and picking up monies which were in the chair. These were her earnings for the day.
Subsequently, one of the bandits went into the woman’s room, where her five-year-old daughter was heard screaming; the bandit then physically harassed the child and dragged her out of the room.
“…he go inside the bedroom, pull she out, hold she by she clothes, and drag she out and start swinging she around…I tell he don’t do she nothing, just give meh she and he could do wuh he want after duh.”
The bandits, while threatening the victims with their guns, reportedly proceeded to ransack the house while threatening to kill the victims if they did not comply with their demands.
“He hold on pon me now and push me down, cause he see me looking at he, and he start say (he gon) kill me! Kill me! Way di money? way di jewellery?!”
The woman then related that he took her to her room and tried to open a wardrobe that was padlocked. He then pointed the gun at the victim and demanded that she open the lock, after which he ransacked the wardrobe and relieved her of her week’s earnings and a number of pieces of jewellery.
The daughter-in-law was also relieved of a pair of gold earrings.
“Wen he done, the next one tell he tie we up! tie we up! ‘Duct tape dem up! Tie dem up!’ Then the next one say, ‘kill dem!’”
The woman stated that she pleaded with the bandits not to bring harm to them, as one of the bandits insisted that his counterpart should kill her.
They were then tied up, with duct placed over their mouths, and were locked in a room, after which the bandits made good their escape.
The woman stated that luckily, they did not notice her phone, which was charging, and she was able to untie herself and make contact with her significant other and related what had occurred.
She then called her son-in-law, who transported her to the Police station.
The Police subsequently visited the woman’s home, where they took statements and pictures of the crime scene.
