Multimillion-dollar gold heist: Newspaper vendor remanded for allegedly harbouring wanted man

A North East La Penitence, Georgetown newspaper vendor has been remanded to prison for harbouring a man who is wanted by the Police for a multimillion-dollar robbery committed on Wallison Enterprise which occurred early last month.
On Friday, Akeem Rajkumar was brought before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Particulars of the charge alleged that on August 7, at Leopold Street, Georgetown, while knowing Antonio Maraj called “Thuggy” and others committed an armed robbery, he received, comforted, and harboured the said Maraj. The defendant was represented by Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade.
Police Prosecutor Annalisa Brummel told the court that Rajkumar admitted to the offence. As such, she made serious objections to him being released on bail. After listening to submissions from the prosecution and defence, acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus remanded Rajkumar to prison.
The case will be called again on October 19.

Already charged
Thirty-six-year-old Delroy “Bug” Jackson and Peon Lee also known as “Nino Brown”, both security officers attached to the business, and 32-year-old Keyon King, a serving Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Sergeant, have already been charged and remanded to prison for the robbery.

They are facing four joint charges for robbery under arms.
Police alleged that on Thursday, August 5, while being armed with guns and in the company of each other, they robbed Francis Santos Lumes of 60 ounces of raw gold valued at $20 million, $38 million in cash, a gold chain valued at $140,000, a gold ring valued $60,000 and $14,000; Fernanda Carmichael of a cell phone valued $350,000, and William Da Silva of a cell phone valued $60,000.

Wanted
A few days after the trio was charged, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) issued wanted bulletins for Maraj called “Pluckin” or “Thuggy” of Leopold Street, Georgetown; Agricola, Greater Georgetown, and Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Jamal Hazel, a former GDF rank of Guyhoc, Georgetown and Dequan King called “Titus” or “Quanie” of Lot 20 D Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, and 435 Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown.

It was reported that on the day in question at about 10:00h, three armed men went to Wallison Enterprise’s Lot 23 Gordon Street, Kitty, Georgetown office and indicated that they were there to sell gold. But within minutes of entering the establishment, they held several staff members at gunpoint and demanded that they open three safes where the money and gold were secured.
After committing the robbery, the armed men bound and gagged the cashier and two other staff after which they locked them in a room. Moments after escaping in a white motor car, the cashier managed to free herself and raise an alarm. The Police arrived and immediately arrested one of the two security guards.

Based on intelligence, the detectives went to a house in B Field Sophia, Greater Georgetown, where they conducted a search and found some personal items belonging to the owner of the business.
There, another security guard was taken into custody. The security guards were, however, interrogated during which one of them confessed to being part of the plot to rob the establishment.
Following leads, the detectives turned up at the home of the GDF Sergeant at Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), where a search was conducted in the house but nothing substantial was found.
During a search in the yard, the detectives noticed a disturbed piece of land and decided to dig.
It was then a bucket was found buried, which, when checked, contained $15 million in $5000 notes and an additional $3 million in $1000 notes. Sometime later, Police found the car that was used in the robbery parked in front of the home of King who Police have identified as the getaway driver.
It was reported that King left for the interior after the robbery. Before leaving, he took home a truckload full of household items, which were purchased the day after the robbery.