Bandits rob CI mother, daughter

…4 in custody

Moments after allegedly committing a daring robbery on a Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara mother and daughter, four suspected bandits were apprehended by the swift action of ‘D’ Division Police.

Three of the men were arrested in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the other was arrested at Crane, WCD.

Based on reports received, four men pretending to be customers entered a grocery store operated by Sheila Pooran and her daughter at Lot 458 Block X, Cornelia Ida, WCD at about 13:30h yesterday. They requested to purchase a phone card and an energy drink, but one of the men soon whipped out a firearm and held Pooran at gunpoint, demanding cash, jewellery and other valuables.

The woman was then taken into the upper flat of the house, where the men turned their attention on her daughter, Roshini Govindra, and continued their demands. Instructing the women not to raise an alarm or else “blood will shed”, the men held the women at gunpoint as two of their numbers ransacked the bedrooms and found a quantity of gold and diamond jewellery. After collecting the jewellery, the men took the women into the shop, where they emptied a drawer of its cash contents.

Following the robbery, the four men entered a white Toyota Spacio and left the scene.

Contacted, ‘D’ Division Commander Leslie James told Guyana Times that an off-duty Police rank who was in a taxi realised what was happening and traced the getaway car as it left the area, even as he contacted his counterparts.

The car, the commander noted, stopped at Hague, West Coast Demerara, where three of the men exited. The driver continued his journey towards the Demerara Harbour Bridge, but by then a road block had been erected at Crane, WCD and the getaway car was intercepted.

James explained that the driver was nursing a gunshot injury to one of his arms which Police later found out had been inflicted after the gun that was used in the robbery accidently went off. The driver was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where the warhead was removed and the wound treated before the suspect was placed in custody.

Meanwhile, based on the description given, the three other men were seen in a minibus at the Demerara Harbour Bridge. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic at the time, and one of the men was seen disposing of a firearm in a nearby trench.

The men were arrested and the trench was searched. A .32 pistol with several live rounds of ammunition was found. The men have been taken into custody as investigations continue.