Gunmen yesterday pounced on a GEB security van, grabbing a $17M GuySuCo payroll on the West Bank Demerara highway and one of them was later killed in a shoot-out with the police while the rest escaped with the booty.
The bridge where the robbery occurred.
A huge security operation unfolded immediately after the robbery but other members of the armed gang, said to have numbered around eight or nine, vanished. Two guns were retrieved from the scene of the shoot-out and a getaway boat found.
The dead robber has been identified as Eric Williams of Fyrish, Corentyne. Police have also detained several other persons including the driver of a GuySuCo van as suspicious activities immediately prior to the robbery have come to light.
The clockwork-like heist, which occurred on a narrow bridge linking the West Bank Demerara communities of Stanleytown and Belle Vue, the splitting up of the gang and the presence of the getaway boat have highlighted the meticulous planning that went into the robbery.
Police at the scene yesterday.
Police, in a statement said that the incident occurred at 11:05 am yesterday. Police said that investigations revealed that the driver and three armed members of GEB Security were escorting a locked canister containing the money to the Wales sugar estate when, in the vicinity of the bridge at Stanleytown, their path was blocked by a silver grey car that was across the road. As the vehicle stopped, nine men surrounded their vehicle and held them at gunpoint.
The bandits took away the canister along with two shotguns, a .38 revolver and ammunition from the security guards and escaped using the GEB security vehicle and the car.
Stabroek News was told that shortly after 11 am yesterday, the GEB van, with four security officers, was delivering the weekly payroll to the GuySuCo Wales Office. There is a narrow bridge that connects Stanleytown and Belle Vue and it was there that the attack occurred.
The GEB van, which was hijacked by the bandits, being dusted for fingerprints at the scene at Nismes.
Reports reaching this newspaper are that a van, belonging to GuySuCo had shortly before pulled up in front of the GEB van with its hazard lights flashing and slowed down and stopped close to the bridge. Due to the narrowness of the roadway at that point, the GEB van was forced to stop. Police sources said that a car was in front of the GuySuCo van and the bandits emerged from the car and pounced on the GEB van. Other bandits, apparently hiding behind the bridge also emerged and aided their accomplices in subduing the guards. Police said that four of the gang members were armed with guns.
The security officers were held at gunpoint and one was gun butted while the bandits threatened to shoot them. They were forced to lie on the ground while the canister was retrieved. At least two of the bandits took control of the GEB vehicle while the others escaped in the car. The bandits in the GEB vehicle turned it around and drove north to Nismes, about a mile away, where they entered a side-road that leads to the river and runs alongside the river wall. There they attempted to escape in a boat but it reportedly capsized.
Water being bailed out of the bandits’ getaway boat (left).
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene at Nismes, some police had already entered the thick bushes surrounding the riverside area. It was stated that they had earlier checked that very area but saw nothing. Army ranks arrived at the same time as this newspaper and proceeded to join them. Minutes later at 1:08 pm, sporadic bursts of gunfire were heard. For over an hour the ranks combed the area. The highway in the vicinity of the operation was closed off and many persons converged at both ends of the road-blocks. Following the gunfire, it was stated that one of the bandits had been shot.
Earlier a road-block was established at the Demerara Harbour Bridge and vehicles heading to the eastern side were searched. At 2:16 pm the army helicopter arrived and flew over the area several times.
The body of Williams was brought out and taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. Police dusted the GEB vehicle for fingerprints and one officer carried two guns that were said to have been recovered from the bandit. The getaway boat, which was powered by an engine, was recovered. Police in their statement said that an unlicensed .32 pistol with twelve matching rounds was also recovered.
Around 2:25 pm the body of Williams was taken to the West Demerara Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It took several policemen to lift the heavily-built man from the back of the police pick-up onto a stretcher. He was wheeled to the emergency room where confusion erupted as persons rushed to get a glimpse of the body. The man bore gunshot wounds to the left side of his head, across his chest and legs. He was minutes later identified by ranks as a wanted man and known in Berbice.
The Joint Services ranks continued their search and at 2:35 pm the road-block was lifted and traffic was allowed to move. Meantime, there was tension when police stopped some cars. The driver of one car, which was heading south and transporting passengers, was taken into custody. Last night police said that a car which was parked on the public road at Nismes and suspected to have been used during the robbery was detained and three men have been arrested as investigations continue. Two of the guards were also in police custody up to last evening.
The Guysuco vehicle at the Wales Police Station yesterday.
Up to late yesterday, the police were still searching for the other members of the gang. A similar attack had occurred on October 24 when heavily armed gunmen attacked a Lethem-bound minibus, shooting the driver and robbing the passengers of valuables. The bandits had numbered around eight and were in two cars. Following the robbery, they had escaped.
GEB
A source close to GEB said that the company is contracted by GuySuCo to escort their payrolls and yesterday such an operation was ongoing when the hijacking occurred.
This newspaper was told that during such escorts there is a company vehicle transporting security guards and the cash as well as a GuySuCo vehicle.
Yesterday, four GEB employees were transporting the payroll, when the GuySuCo vehicle speed past theirs with the hazard lights on, the source said pointing out that normally during the escort, the GuySuCo vehicle is in front.
As the vehicle, approached the koker on the Stanleytown public road, West Bank Demerara, the GuySuCo vehicle slowed down and eventually stopped, the source said. The GEB vehicle was also forced to stop and five men armed with shotguns suddenly appeared, this newspaper was told.
According to the source, it is unclear where the men came from but they rushed up to the vehicle and ordered the occupants out at gunpoint.
Once the hijacking had occurred, the source stated, the guards immediately called their base and contact was subsequently made with police ranks at the Wales Police Station and Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.
Those involved in the operation came in for high praise from the source.
Brushes with the law
Police sources told Stabroek News that Williams, who was shot dead at Nismes, has had many brushes with the law over the years. He was convicted of rape and robbery and spent five years in jail. Williams was recently released on bail after being charged with the armed robbery of a cambio dealer at Rose Hall earlier this year.
He is also the subject of pending police investigations.
When Stabroek News visited the man’s Lot 22 Fyrish, Corentyne home his relatives were unaware of this death and as the news spread, pandemonium broke out.
His sister who was the first to learn of the death was inconsolable and contacted other relatives living in the village.
Relatives did not provide this newspaper with much information but from all indications they had warned the unemployed man repeatedly to change his ways but to no avail.
Relatives had told this newspaper that Williams spent most of his time with a brother in Georgetown. (Additional reporting by Zoisa Fraser, Adrian Smith and Melissa Charles)
Its simple get an ID card. Open a bank Account,If you cant read or write, they have ways to handle it,: but as along as you have everyone being paid in cash,You will have these kind of criminals.In the USA they have these illegal who will only accept cash.Someone is always waiting to rob, or strong arm them, Even the police in certain states of the USA, will stop someone for a traffic violation, and because he is illegal, and have a bundle of money, some dishonest policeman will take his money and let him go. Very few will report this. It’s a problem all over,
when it is known they are carrying money. Guyana is bad, very bad , a lot of crime, I dont know when things will change.
What we must try to do is try to fing a solution .Maybe we should try to build
more welfare centers in the villages, where the teenagers can go and let off some steam. They lack things to do, Teach them body work, mechanic,carpenter, mason,welding, computer,nursing, etc ,and part time jobs, Teenagers need money to spend, I am putting my 2 cents in, but I know this wont help. As a teenager in Guyana, I always had money, as I was always willing to help a neighbour, and had so many side jobs, I was always busy. Shaving ice for the Ice man, helping the mechanic, picking someone fruits,forking a garden,helping a fisherman, doing chores for someone, or washing someones car. I also reared my own pigeons, Fowl,rabbits, and planted my own vegetable garden, I always had money, as I was always doing something productive, and selling my produce, birds and animals.I also reared Game Cocks( Lets stay easy about that). Guyana is very fruitful, and a lot could be accomplished by the youths;We need to get to the root of the problem. “WHAT MUST TEENAGERS DO”. I remember the days on the East Bank,Mr Harding, Mr Ameer Khan, social welfare officers paid by the sugar Estates,Built Welfare centers, where we had Plays, Indoor and outdoor games, and someone to actually help us to focus.????????????????????????????
These are the kind of things we need, we have ignored our youths too long,
They are the men and women of tomorrow, They dont even know how to respect a girl./woman.Parents are not as strict as they were, teachers cant bus yu ass when you mis behave, My neighbour a blackman, Mr Johnny, drop 3 lash in my ass( a coolieman) when he catch me at 12 smoking a lighthouse. I go home crying, where my father , who already get the message, That I playing BIG MAN, Bus my Ass again,Then my mother come and ask what a crying for, After my father told her, she pick up a fire wood and beat the shi- out.of me. Thanks to all those old soles , I’m a good boy now.All in all it did’nt hurt me , it set me straight in life.(smiles) As for the older criminals, they actually are ahead , after they pay a small fine, or very little jail time.They go and do the same thing all over again.
Stealing becomes profitable to them. Something has to be done if Guyana got to get better. THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO ADD MY 2 CENTS.
So good, if true!!! Jubilation, celebration!!
The gran majority very rarely would do, what you have done, they all wants free/fast money, without work and sweat, put what you put Welfare or Farewell they would thief, Drugs/movies when paranoid does anything for money!!
Stop blaming GUYSUCO. The employees don’t want their money in check or direct deposit. Always grumpy when told to do so.I hope they learn from this.But they still have to get their pay.
So how come berbice guysuco workers agree to get pay thru the bank? And yall does think berbicians mad. The madhouse get more people in it from out of berbice than from berbice.
The employees of the bank including the one that approves the cheque to be cashed are the ones who inform the fellas outside but the focus seem to go towards the victim`s stupidity, how much precaution can you take when these criminals in the Bank are using cell phones and getting away with this, cell phones should be banned in Offices ,everybody seem to have their hand in something
dman Guyana is getting really brutal
I am so scared even to visit now!!!!!
dont lose faith cliff
All my berbice ppl hello esp all new amsterdam ppl tucber park
Guyana is getting really bad man thought the us was bad but wow so much crime again!!!!
THE JOB WAS GIVEN TO THE GEB GARDS TO DO , IT IS THERE RESPONSABLELY TO TAKE IT SAFE, LET THEM PAY IT BACK
CONGRATULATIONS JOINT SERVICES.GOOD WORK.WE CRITICISE WHEN YOU DO NOT DO YOUR WORK PROPERLY.NOW IS THE TIME TO PRAISE YOU.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.STILL MORE TO BE DONE.
well the dam gov need to provide more job or some national service or somethin g for these youngster because they have to live and without a job they have to earn a living some other ways and these things will not stop if they dont act now..
let them farm the land, they just dont want to do it, they want easy money.
job today, manager next day , earn a million on the third day and drive a BMW/benz the fourth day, this is the thinking of the uneducated young parasites of society.
Sometimes simple logics evade us, thus most of us get tangled up in by putting the cart before the horse. We need to STOP all the excuses about illiteracy and ID cards. These escuses don’t hold water in the US, and not even in Guyana anymore. Pay the workers in checks and see how fast they get ID, learn to read, open accounts and become civilized. Maintain the backward system of payment and you maintain a backward people. It is that simple.
Dey got to mantain de system like dat to hold on to de vote.
I thought fineman and skinny dead! They kill everybody and never got a chance to question a single gunman. Why is everyone surprised? There is a coverup in the security forces that’s why they ensure the gunmen are killed and not captured and information extracted.