The surveillance footage showing the armed men in the shop

Police in D Division (West Demerara) are hunting a three-man gang that attacked and robbed a shop in Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara on Thursday evening.

The incident occurred around 19:10h during which the armed men robbed and injured two West Bank Demerara residents. According to the police, the men entered the grocery shop of Mohabir Singh, 24, located at 406 First Street, Goed Fortuin, gun-butted his head and escaped with over $900,000 cash.

Sherwin Mayers, 37, a customer who was in the shop at the time, was also relieved of his cellular phone and $20,000 cash. When Guyana Times visited the shop on Friday, Mayers related what transpired.

He said at the time he was sitting just outside the shop while Singh and his father-in-law were at the gate standing when a car pulled up and three men, all armed, rushed out and help them at gunpoint.

”When they come in, one of them lash me in my head and took away my phone. They then forced us inside the shop and put us to lie on the ground face down,” he recalled. Mayers noted that he can’t really say what transpired afterwards since he was face down.

This newspaper was told that Singh and his wife Liloutie, 23, along with their two infant children recently moved into the house and have been running the stop for about four months. This is the first time they have been robbed.

At the time of the robbery, Singh’s wife, his children and two other young female relatives were in the shop. After seeing the gunmen, the females rushed upstairs to safety and locked the door but were forced to let the men in.

Singh’s father-in-law Khemraj Persaud explained that after the gunmen put them to lie in the shop, two of them jumped over the counter and went upstairs after his daughter while the other remained to watch over them. He added that the door upstairs was close so the other two returned downstairs and took Singh to get his wife to open the door, which she did.

When this publication visited the house, Singh was not at home but his wife related that while upstairs, the gunmen demanded that her husband hand over all the cash and jewellery. “When we give them the cash, they ask for all the jewellery but we tell them we ain’t got no jewellery. One of them then take his gun and hit my husband in his head,” she recalled.

Guyana Times was told the men were masked, however, surveillance camera in the shop caught the bandits entering and forcing the three men to lie on the floor while they emptied the cash register. They were also seen rushing out the shop.

Neighbours who saw when the men entered the shop related that they called 911 emergency line but there was no answer as was the case when they contacted the La Grange Police Station.

Meanwhile, in a release the police said the village has an active and vibrant Community Policing Group however the group was not out on patrol during the robbery. Nevertheless, crime sleuths in the Division believe this gang will be apprehended soon since they are narrowing in on their investigations.

Ranks in this Division said they recently dismantled a criminal networking gang.