Corriverton heist
− additional ranks deployed to Springlands Police Station
Eleven persons, including an ex-Police Officer, are assisting Police with their investigation into Monday morning’s high-profile robbery committed on a Corentyne cambio dealer.
Following the robbery, investigators arrested seven persons within the first 24 hours. Following other leads, on Tuesday four other persons were taken into custody, bringing the total in custody to 11.
In the wake of the robbery, Divisional Commander, Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, assured that security will be beefed up in the bordering town of Corriverton for the holiday season. According to the Commander, the additional ranks to be stationed at Springlands are highly trained and capable of dealing with any eventuality.
On Monday, a gang of 15 heavily-armed bandits hammered their way into the home of a Corriverton cambio dealer situated at Lot 93 Albert Street, Kingston, and carted off with $20 million in cash, and in excess of $1 million in jewellery.
The men used AK-47 rifles and shotguns in their military-styled operation, which lasted about 20 minutes. Firecrackers were also used by the bandits.
The men, who were all armed with assault rifles and a cutlass, used a sledgehammer to break open the grilled window to gain access to the house. They then hammered open the steel door leading to the bedroom in which the Cambio dealer, Devendra Churaman, also called “Katak” was occupying.
Neighbours described the incident as terrifying. “It sounded like a war zone,” one neighbour said, while another said her husband was at work and she was in fear that the men might target her home. More frightening, she explained, was the fact that it was possible that her husband would have come home in an attempt to ensure her safety.
According to another neighbour, Reana Sookhai, she did not hear the initial hammering sounds when the men were breaking into the building. “My dog was barking and that was when I get up to go and see, but when ah open the door to come out, is then I hear the gun shot and a didn’t worry come out. I didn’t know if was fire rocket or gunshot but then it start going off over and over…” the woman related.
The Commander stated, “that is why we are re-enforcing the Police Station with ranks that can adequately deal with any eventuality.”
He explained that Corriverton is a busy town with lots of foreign currency passing through the town as a result of the town’s geographic linkage with neighbouring Suriname.
