By Michel Outridge

THE PEOPLE’S Choice Self-Service Store, located at Meten-Meer-Zorg Public Road, West Coast Demerara, was broken into and robbed of millions of dollars in items, including brand name colognes, bags of rice, milk, beverages and car accessories, among other things.A distressed Harry Singh, proprietor of the store, told the Guyana Chronicle that he learnt of the incident after a neighbour telephoned him at home early on Friday morning.

The items left behind from the empty showcases

He said he hurried to the scene and was greeted by a ransacked store, and saw that one of the side windows, which was outfitted with steel and secured by double padlocks, was removed and the wooden bars ripped out.

Singh explained that the robbers gained entry from the ground floor, and entered the store, which has several sections, including grocery, stationery, pharmacy, car accessories, CDs and DVDs, gift centre and electronics.

The businessman said he rents the place, the lower flat of which houses the store while the top flat is occupied by a private school named Professional Learning College (PLC).

He reported that the police were summoned, and showed up at the scene, but failed to lift any fingerprints from the many showcases in the store.

Singh explained that at approximately 03:00hrs, a neighbour observed a man carrying two bags of rice passing his home, but he thought nothing of it. But when a second man passed with a basket containing boxes of milk, beverages and other things, he become suspicious and called out to his wife to hand him the cutlass, and he began to shout for “Thief!”

He said the man dropped the basket and fled on foot.

Singh said the bandits spent a lot of time in the store, and selected the best of everything. He pointed out that they selected from the many glass cases in the store, thus he was robbed of the largest Cadbury chocolates, colognes, milk, juices and other items.

Singh told this newspaper that the business is family-owned and the members tried to sell everything possible.

This window, once outfitted with steel, is the one through which the robbers gained entry to the store

The bandits had also gained access to the top flat, which houses the private school, and they took the money that was there from the canteen, and also took time to have a few beverages from the refrigerator.

This is the second robbery to have occurred at the same business place. In the first robbery, the robbers had gained entry to the store after breaking the wall. In this robbery, the men also brought their own tools, which included hammer and chisels, which they left behind.

Singh is, however, thankful that it was not a gunpoint robbery, and his two employees were not hurt.