Another bandit killed
A police operation to find the gunmen who ambushed a GEB van on Thursday, grabbing a $17.2M GuySuCo payroll, led to the death of a second bandit at Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara early yesterday morning and the recovery of the money.
Diligent work by the lawmen, some of whom were mobilized from the city following Thursday’s daring daylight robbery, also led to the capture of two more bandits and the arrest of two men whom it is believed assisted some of the gunmen to escape after the ambush.
Meanwhile police have identified the second dead bandit as Leon Dundas of Punt Trench Dam, Albouystown. Police had said that nine men carried out the attack and so far five have been captured alive and two killed during separate gun battles.
Stabroek News understands that one of the five is hospitalized after being injured during a shoot-out with the police, early yesterday morning.
The other dead bandit is Eric Williams of Fyrish, Corentyne, who had had several brushes with the law over the years including five years imprisonment for rape and armed robbery.
Police, disclosed in a statement yesterday, that the other man who managed to escape from the Nismes Foreshore, following Thursday’s shoot-out during which Williams was fatally wounded was later arrested in the Nismes area. Stabroek News understands that this would have been late Thursday night.
According to the statement, while patrolling on Thursday night, a team of police ranks encountered a motor vehicle at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara, with two men inside who upon being questioned were suspected of being involved in assisting the perpetrators to get away. They were subsequently arrested.
The vehicle the duo was in was not the one that was used to block the road at Stanleytown during the robbery, according to a senior police officer who also told this newspaper that the vehicle is currently at the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station.
The police said that subsequently around 1:15 yesterday morning, ranks confronted a group of four men along the ‘old road’ at Goed Fortuin during which there was an exchange of gunfire that resulted in the death of Dundas. The other three men were arrested.
Following the exchange, the police recovered the canister with the GuySuCo payroll in the sum of $17.2 million; the .38 Smith and Wesson revolver and six rounds that were taken away from the GEB security guards; along with a .32 Taurus pistol with two magazines and twenty-one rounds; a 9mm Glock pistol with two magazines and thirty-one rounds and two .38 Taurus revolvers with ten matching rounds. Two shotguns were also taken from the guards but have not yet been recovered.
During interviews conducted, members of the gang “have confessed” to a number of robberies including the armed robbery committed on businessman Chetram called ‘Barry’ at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo on October 14, the release added.
In that incident heavily-armed gunmen stormed a grocery firing shots and robbing a family of $6M in cash and jewellery before escaping.
A police source told this newspaper that there were three separate confrontations with the gunmen after the shoot-out on the Nismes Foreshore.
The first, the source said was late Thursday night when one of the bandits was arrested in the Nismes back dam area. The second would have been yesterday morning around 2 o’clock when a second bandit was wounded and captured during a confrontation with lawmen and the third confrontation resulted in the death of Dundas, the capture of his three accomplices and the discovery of the money.
Several police sources have told this newspaper that there is a bandit with gunshot wounds in hospital while the other four have been transferred to the city where they are being grilled.
Unfamiliar territory
The clockwork-like heist on Thursday, 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. At least two of the bandits took control of the GEB vehicle while the others escaped in the silver grey car that was used to block the road. 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 capsized. This is when things began to fall apart for members of the gang who were forced to seek refuge in the thick bushes along the river side. By this time the security forces had reached the area and started combing the bushes, when they came under heavy gunfire from two men. During the exchange, Williams was shot and killed while his accomplice escaped.
Police sources have told this newspaper that the men, in custody and those killed were not from that part of the country and did not know it well and that may have been the reason why they failed in their escape bid.
So far, sources have said that two of the captured bandits have city addresses while a third is from an East Bank Demerara community.
In the meantime, ranks are continuing their hunt for two others including the mastermind who has managed to elude capture thus far.
It is unclear how the four bandits managed to bypass the heavy security presence, reaching Goed Fortuin which is several villages away from Nismes and close to the Demerara Habour Bridge.
A source close to GEB had told Stabroek News that the company is contracted by GuySuCo to escort their payrolls and such an operation was ongoing when the hijacking occurred.
During these escorts there is a company vehicle transporting the security guards and the cash as well as a GuySuCo vehicle.
Four GEB employees were transporting the payroll when a GuySuCo vehicle, the source said, sped past with its hazard lights on.
As the vehicle approached a koker on the Stanleytown Public Road, the GuySuCo vehicle slowed down and eventually stopped. The GEB vehicle was forced to stop, the source said, and five men armed with shotguns surrounded the vehicle and suddenly appeared. The occupants were ordered out of the vehicle and the gunmen later drove off in it.
Police said that they responded about 15 minutes after the incident, with ranks from the West Demerara establishing roadblocks at strategic locations and an immediate operation was commenced to locate the perpetrators. Subsequently additional resources were garnered including from the Police Marine Section, the Joint Special Operations Group and the Guyana Defence Force.
The teams spread out at key points and other areas and cordoned off significant sections of the West Demerara, including the Demerara Harbour Bridge, reducing the bandits’ manoeuvring room.
