– getaway car found, some stolen items recovered
By Andrew Carmichael
Bandits on Thursday morning broke into an electronics store situated a few buildings away from the Albion Police Station in Berbice, stealing several items valued at $1.9 million, including five speakers, ten amplifiers, two laptop computers, one inverter, one car battery, a surveillance camera set and $68,000 in cash.
One of the suspected bandits is now in custody after Police retrieved the getaway car and some of the stolen articles.
According to reports, about 02:30h on Thursday morning, a constable who was on duty at the Albion Police Station observed a male fetching a bulky box from Andrew’s Stationery, Computers and Car Audio, towards a parked burgundy motor car.
He walked over and the man dropped the box and ran off into the village. The car then drove off. The officer made contact with the Rose Hall Police Outpost and shortly afterwards, the car was discovered abandoned at Rose Hall Town Reef. It had crashed. At the time of the discovery, a 12-volt battery and an inverter were found in the car, which was taken to the Albion Police Station and impounded.
Jailall Motilall, 59, the owner of the store, was contacted and confirmed that his store was broken into and articles, including those recovered, were stolen.
An hour later at the Whim Police Station, a man walked in and said his car was hijacked.
However, Police Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam told this newspaper that the man – who gave his name as Freddie Butler, aged 37 years old of 367 Section B, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, told the Police that he was hired in Georgetown to transport someone to Berbice, and on the Corentyne the car was taken from him. He said he was taken to a cemetery and thrown out of the car.
Police later went to the place where he claimed he was thrown out of the car and also contacted the Berbice River Bridge to verify the time of crossing and to confirm his story. According to Assistant Commissioner Amsterdam, his story did not match up.
Butler was taken into custody.
Meanwhile, a store official said that surveillance footage was also removed from the store.
The investigation continues.
