Trio charged, remanded for robbing Chinese establishment

Three of the four men who were taken into custody for the armed robbery committed at a Chinese establishment last week were charged and remanded to prison on Friday. Twenty-five-year-old Terrence Phill, a construction worker of Durban Street, Work-en-Rust; Kobie Benjamin, 19, a welder of Vigilance, East Coast Demerara (ECD); and Antonio Atwell of Robb Street, Bourda, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, where the charge was read to them.

Police stated that on April 21, 2026, they robbed Chinese nationals Yushun Lin and Linxie at Mon Repos of approximately $400,000 in cash and an iPhone 15. In addition, Phill and Benjamin were also charged in connection with the robbery of Fangkui Chen at Triumph North on April 19, 2026.
Furthermore, they were charged with the robbery that occurred on April 20 at La Bonne Intention Railway Embankment against Melford John, Hoyte Simeon, and Chinese businessman Sue Ye Fang.

Meanwhile, during their court appearance on Friday, they pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to prison until May 29, 2026.
It was reported that on April 21, the victims were closing their business when four males arrived on two motorcycles. The pillion riders, one armed with a firearm and the other with a knife, dismounted their respective motorcycles and entered the premises.
The suspects allegedly assaulted the victims and relieved them of a cell phone and an undisclosed sum of cash before escaping. However, Police patrols responded to the robbery, but the suspects managed to evade law enforcement.
Nevertheless, during a pursuit, a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims was reportedly dropped and subsequently handed over to the Police.

Acting on intelligence received, an operation was conducted on Robb Street, Georgetown, where three of the men were arrested after two 9mm pistols with 18 matching rounds of ammunition, one toy gun, three knives, two XR motorcycles, and cash were found.
A 19-year-old construction worker was later arrested at another location with cash and two cellular phones in his possession.