The Reliance Police Station yesterday morning failed to respond to a call from a Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice family, who discovered their house had been broken into and that they had been robbed of cash, jewellery and electronics.
Hamza Khan, also known as “Daniel”, a goldsmith of Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice, explained that his family went to bed around 11 pm on Tuesday and woke up around 3.30 am yesterday to discover their entire house ransacked. He further explained that the perpetrators gained access by removing a grill from a window in the lower flat and then opening their front door.
The man said he immediately called the Reliance Police Station but shockingly, ranks never responded to his call.
Stabroek News was told that ranks attached to the New Amsterdam Police Station then responded more than one hour after being phoned.
According to Khan, the perpetrators ransacked their entire house and stole over $440,000 in Guyana and United States currency, along with a Dell laptop, one Samsung tablet, one Samsung S4 phone, one Samsung S9 phone and a quantity of jewellery, the majority of which was silver. Additionally, the perpetrators stole $20,000 from the man’s son’s car, which was parked downstairs, and tore his licence in the process.
However, Khan said the perpetrators were unable to get to his family, since their room doors were locked. At the time of the incident, he, along with his wife, son and daughter, were at home sleeping.
“They went in the toilet, even the fridge them empty out, the flour bucket, all over, them check all them ledge because everything that went on them ledge them throw down, all them cabinets. We get two divider, both them empty. Them empty two barrels in the hall upstairs”, he said.
Meanwhile, the man noted that some ranks attached to the New Amsterdam Police Station visited his house yesterday morning and lifted fingerprints. He said the ranks told them that they would be contacted to speak with a detective but they waited all day yesterday and were not contacted.
This is the third robbery in a matter of less than two weeks to occur in the Canje area. Stabroek News was told that a white 212 was seen traversing the Cumberland, East Canje, Berbice route on Tuesday.
Coincidentally, in the most recent Canje robbery, where a businesswoman was robbed of $200,000 in cash and phone cards, persons had also seen the perpetrators exiting a white 212 before entering the woman’s shop, which is located along the Canefield Public Road.
This is not the first time that the issue of ranks at the Reliance Police Station not responding to calls have emerged. Residents of Canje have indicated numerous times in the past that most times, the station’s phone would be busy or ring out, while other times, they would not respond or would respond hours after.
The residents believe that an investigation needs to be launched into the operations at the station immediately.
