Accused bandits each released on $1.5M bail

Almost a month after three market vendors were remanded for breaking and entering the L. Seepersaud Maraj & Sons Jewellery Store in the Stabroek Market and stealing $22 million worth of gold and diamond jewellery, they were successful in petitioning the court to be placed on bail; and Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan has placed each accused on $1.5 million bail.
The accused: Tyron Marks, 31, of Lot 107 Eccles, East Bank Demerara; Clifford Rodney, 66, of Lot 265 One Mile, Linden; and Albert De Freitas, 54, of Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, were remanded when they had made their first appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
According to the prosecution’s case, between July 2 and July 3, 2018, the men broke and entered the jewellery store located in the Stabroek Market.
The men were represented by defence attorneys Pamela De Santos, Kezia Williams and Adrian Thompson respectively. These defence attorneys, in their bail applications, each informed the court that their clients were beaten by Police to confess to the theft.
Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers had objected to the men being placed on bail, and had informed the court that the men have pending matters of a similar nature before the courts, while citing the serious nature of the offence and the value of the items.
The court was told that during a video interrogation with investigators, two of the men admitted to cutting into the store’s safe to gain access to the items.
Reports are that on July 3, 2018, when the owners and employees of the jewellery store arrived at the Market, they realised the store had been robbed. Upon checking, they discovered the entire store ransacked, and the vault torched open.
In a press statement, the owners had said the robbery was the work of “highly-skilled thieves.”
According to the owners, they had consulted with several security specialists and others trained in ironwork and welding, and were informed that it would have taken no less than five hours for the vaults to be cut open. It was further revealed that the owners had spoken to two City Constables, who claimed that checks were done earlier in the Market, but nothing was discovered.
Additionally, the stall was secured with an alarm system that was being monitored by the MMC Security Force.
Meanwhile, Crime Chief Paul Williams headed to the scene a team that was able to collect fingerprints from one of the heavy-duty safes in which the jewellery was secured.
Meanwhile, the robbery has yet again raised concerns about security at the market.
Only recently, the City Constabulary named Stabroek and Bourda markets as popular criminal hotspots where consumers are attacked and robbed on a daily basis. These offences are suspected to be gang-related.
Chief Constable Andrew Foo has stated that the Markets have been on their radar for quite a while now in light of the increase in criminal activities there.
Foo explained that at the Stabroek Market, since it is a transportation hub, persons entering and leaving public transportation are the main targets. With respect to Bourda Market, most of the incidents occur among vendors and shoppers in the rush hours, when sales are at a peak.