A home invasion in Little Diamond, East Bank of Demerara (EBD) has left business owners shaken and their residence ransacked, with millions in cash and valuables stolen.
The robbery took place on Sunday morning at Molly’s General Store. The business establishment is located at the bottom flat of the business owners’ home.
In an interview on Sunday, the wife recounted the traumatic events that began when her husband heard a knock outside their home.
“My husband heard the knocking, so he came outside. I didn’t even know he came outside,” she explained. “He thought it was rats in the ceiling, right? So, he took the mop stick from the kitchen and started hitting at the ceiling.”
She explained that the attackers, who were already inside the house, heard the noise and quickly responded.
“When they heard the hitting, they went already and cut the ceiling,” she said. “They pushed down, and then they grabbed him [her husband]. He tried to fight back a little, but they overpowered him. He started getting aggressive, and then they put the gun to his head and told him to stop or they would shoot.”
The couple’s nightmare only escalated from there. “They tied him up and put him in a chair,” the wife continued. “They asked me if I knew where the stash was and I said there wasn’t no stash. They told me how we could get so big business and don’t have no stash. Then they pushed me into the room where there were two men with guns. There were four of them in total, but two had guns.”
The robbers, after confronting the couple, demanded money. Fearing for their lives, she said that they led the bandits to the money.
“After my husband heard what they were saying that they were going to shoot me. He told me to give them the money. They then told us, ‘This can’t be real. You have to have more,’ and started tumbling the whole room,” the wife said. “They weren’t satisfied with the first set of money we gave them. They told us to give more.”
“They didn’t hurt us that badly, but the whole situation could’ve gone differently,” she explained. “They kept demanding more, but thankfully, we were able to give them what they wanted.”
When asked about the amount of money stolen, the couple confirmed a significant sum. “It was over six million dollars in cash, and they took a lot of jewelry too, along with US dollars,” she said.
At the time, she said five persons including her son who was visiting for the holidays were at home. He was also beaten and tied up.
The couple’s retail business, Molly’s General Store, was also targeted, though the robbers seemed intent on cash and valuables rather than business-related goods.
Police are investigating the incident, and the couple has expressed hope that while CCTV footage from their property will help identify the criminals, the men would have scanned their home and realized that there were no cameras at the back of the house.
“They were smart, they came through the back and they came in from the roof. There are no cameras up there on the roof,” the woman said.
As the investigation continues, police are urging anyone with information to come forward.
