– cops report breakthroughs in recent robberies
Two raids conducted yesterday by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on two East Coast houses seems to have led police to major breakthroughs in two recent robberies which they were investigating. Three arrests were made.

According to a police press release, a man and a woman have been arrested in connection with property that was taken during the robbery committed on Magistrate Nigel Hawke last month and a man was arrested in connection with an armed robbery which occurred on Thursday at Enmore.

At midday yesterday, police officers conducted a search on a house at Haslington, East Coast Demerara (ECD), where they found an AK-47 rifle with eight matching rounds and a .32 Taurus revolver.  The police also seized a cell phone, five watches, a pair of cycling gloves and three bicycles that are suspected to have been stolen.

“The cell phone, cycling gloves and one of the bicycles have been identified as being the property of the victims of an armed robbery at Enmore North, East Coast Demerara, last Thursday,” the release said. One man was arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Afterwards, the police conducted a second search on a house at Beterverwagting, ECD, where a lap top computer was recovered. The lap top has been identified as the property of Magistrate Hawke who was the victim of an armed robbery at his home at Non Pariel, ECD, on April 20.  A man and a woman were arrested and are in police custody.

Magistrate Hawke was tied, gagged and left on his bathroom floor as a robber armed with an AK-47 reigned terror in his Non Pareil home for approximately 45 minutes.

As the magistrate struggled to free his hands tightly bound behind his back, the bandit escorted his wife, attorney-at-law Donelle Hawke, around their home in search of cash, jewellery and other valuables.

In a press release following the incident, police said the robbery occurred around 12.30 am at Section ‘B’, Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara. Magistrate Hawke and his wife were attacked and robbed by a man armed with a firearm.

Investigations, according to the police, revealed that the victims were at home when they were confronted by the attacker who had managed to gain entry to the building. The armed man carted off a laptop, a digital camera, two cell phones, a quantity of jewellery worth about $350,000 and $15,000 cash.