More Police officers have been deployed to the county of Berbice to assist in the fight against crime where scores of residents are living in fear due to the high levels of robberies and murders occurring there on a regular basis.
Deputy Police Commissioner and Crime Chief, Lyndon Alves in an interview with Guyana Times on Monday stated that the recent robbery of the Chinese supermarket on Saturday evening, where high-powered rifles were used, has left a number of residents terrified.
“The residents in Berbice are concerned about the crime, most particularly, the last one where it is alleging that high-powered rifles were used. So as a result, additional resources were deployed to aid in the fight there,” he explained.
At least three persons were badly beaten during that robbery which occurred at Albion, Corentyne, Berbice, where it is alleged that the perpetrators were armed with an AK-47 rifle.
The Crime Chief explained that many persons believe crime is on the increase due to the levels of reporting on the issue but contended that according to police statistics, crime is actually decreasing in that region.
“You see, persons are linking the increase in crimes based on what they are aware of but we are looking at the statistics and based on our statistics, we do not have an increase per se in crime in Berbice… so additional resources were deployed to aid in the fight there along with the ranks of Berbice from Georgetown.”
Meanwhile, in relation to the Chinese supermarket robbery, no arrests have been made.
On Saturday last, around 21:30h, the proprietors of a Chinese supermarket in Albion, Berbice, along with customers, were robbed after two masked men armed with an AK-47 rifle and a small handgun invaded the business establishment.
When police ranks arrived at the robbery scene, the gunmen fired multiple shots at the vehicle, resulting in the officers having to shield themselves while running for cover to avoid being hit by the bullets that were fired in their direction.
The ranks did not have time to return fire and the bandits made good their escape on foot with their loot.
On May 5, three bandits, two of which were armed with guns, shot, robbed and beat a money-changer at Springlands, Corentyne, Berbice. They escaped with $500,000 in local, US and Surinamese currencies.
In April last, three gun-wielding bandits invaded the Indra Grocery and Beer Garden in Canefield, East Canje, Berbice, and robbed the owners and about 22 customers of a quantity of jewellery, cash and cell phones before stealing a customer’s car to escape.
