5 arrested for robbing, terrorising Corentyne couple

– eyewitnesses say 10 heavily armed men were involved

Five men, including the driver of the suspected getaway car, are now in police custody following the recent armed robbery committed on an Upper Corentyne couple.
Reports are that at about 22:20h on Saturday, 10 heavily armed men stormed a residence situated at Second Street, South Number 69 Village, Corentyne, where 27-year-old fisherman Sachin Ramrattan, also called ‘Kemmy’; his 24-year-old wife Vidya Gopaul, also called ‘Polly’, who is nine months pregnant; and the couple’s 4-year-old son reside.
Guyana Times understands that this family was fortunately able to escape before the bandits entered the building, getting out through a window and crawling onto their roof, before jumping onto the neighbour’s roof; then reportedly crossing three houses by running across the roofs before jumping into an ally and making it into the next street, where Ramrattan’s relatives live.
This pregnant woman, who had to jump some eight feet to the ground, suffered a few bruises, but her pregnancy was reportedly not affected, this publication was told.
Villagers report that dogs in the area were barking for about twenty minutes before the bandits attacked this home.
One eyewitness related that he heard six gunshots.  “Two single shots come from a different gun. You know because you hear the sound different. And the other (shots) like is from a machine gun,” this publication was told.
In explaining that all the home invaders were masked and heavily armed, one eyewitness said they were all dressed in black outfits. “All of them had strap-up shoes, and some of them had on gloves and (masks) over their faces. The street had light, and some of them were walking up and down the street, so we peep out and see them…,” one neighbour said. According to this neighbour, three of the men went into the house while the others stayed on the street.
The men reportedly entered the two-storey building at about 22:30h. They smashed a window and then hammered out the iron grill, and they remained there until 0:45h, some neighbours say.
“When they go in the house is just after I check the time on my phone; and they were inside all the time till almost 1’ O’clock. All the time we calling. We call some people at the front street for them to call the police. We call Springlands Police Station. We call 51 [Number 51 Police Station], and we call New Amsterdam. These men were in the house for like two hours, and no police can’t come; and is everybody calling all the police stations…” one resident said.
Another resident reported that intruders remained in the house for more than two hours.
Ramrattan’s mother, his sister and his brother-in-law left the country last month, leaving the family of three alone in the house. $1.7 million in jewellery, $100,000 in cash, and an assortment of other items were reportedly confiscated.
This family has since moved to another location out of fear.
Meanwhile, police in a release said that, following the armed robbery, five suspects have been taken into custody, including a 33-year-old driver of Number 72 Village, Corentyne, who was found in his vehicle within close proximity to the crime scene. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of a small quantity of cannabis, and a search of his premises unearthed an unlicensed shotgun, two spent shells and one live cartridge, the release said.
(Andrew Carmichael)