The driver of a taxi and three women were arrested during a roadblock at Weldaad, West Coast Berbice after police received a report that they shoplifted items from a store at Cotton Tree around 12:30 pm yesterday.
Owner of the hardware and general store, Bisram ‘Bryan’ Basantram, 41, told Stabroek News that the shoplifters who posed as genuine customers carted off a portable DVD player and two car amplifiers worth almost $100,000.
He said the persons – who were in a dark-coloured wagon – entered the store first around 8:30 am and enquired about the prices for some items and left.
“The store was not busy so everyone was alert,” he said. According to him when they returned at 12:30 pm he was in the kitchen adjoining the store, having lunch.
His 13-year-old daughter was sitting at the cashier booth and an employee was attending to the driver as the women stood in a corner of the store.
Bisram said he returned to the store just in time to see one of the women dancing and he told her “like you happy because you dancing without music. She didn’t bother with me and kept dancing.”
Afterwards he realized that the woman was actually blocking her accomplices as they stuffed the items in a bag.
He only realized he was robbed when a customer told him that he heard something fall as he was entering the shop. By then the persons had already left. When he checked he saw a quantity of MP 3 and MP 4 players on the floor and thought some of those items were stolen.
However after checking he discovered the other items missing. He immediately contacted the Fort Wellington Police Station but the phone was busy.
He then called the Weldaad Station and informed ranks about the theft.
Ranks there set up a roadblock and managed to apprehend the thieves.
Full of praise for the police, Basantram said he was asked to go to the station to identity the perpetrators as well as the items which were returned to him.
Reports are that a quantity of milk and other canned items were also in the car.
