Bandits invade newly-opened supermarket at Belvedere
Just a few weeks after opening their new business to the public, a young Chinese couple,
The business place at Belvedere, East Berbice.
owners of the ‘Good Life Supermarket’ located along the Belvedere Public Road, Corentyne, was on Wednesday evening left traumatized after two armed bandits invaded the premises.
The ordeal which began at approximately 19:30 hrs, and lasted approximately fifteen minutes, was all caught on surveillance cameras. The footage showed the men arriving on a motorcycle, one armed with a cutlass and the other with a shotgun.
The perpetrators were seen barging into the supermarket and ordering the couple to lie on the ground, along with three customers who were still inside. The male proprietor seemed a bit reluctant to follow the men’s orders and as a result received a gun butt to the shoulder that took him down.
The owner’s wife exited from the cashier’s area to save her husband from being further hit, but as she hovered over the man she was kicked to her left side by one of the armed men.
The men, whose faces were covered – one with a handkerchief and the other with a hoodie –
The couple contemplating their next move.
continued to beat the couple with the cutlass.
One of the perpetrators left the area where the owners were being held and ventured to another part of the building. He reportedly ran upstairs and ransacked the upper flat – the living quarters – while the other bandit stood guard.
After about five minutes the man, armed with a cutlass, returned as the other demanded that they empty the cash register. They both escaped on the motorcycle after taking cash and valuables. Each man had a haversack and wore dark-coloured clothing.
The owners and customers in the supermarket were seen scrambling to exit the building after the men reportedly escaped with keys to the automated garage doors, and had tried to lock the customers and owners inside the building.
Meanwhile, Divisional Commander Ian Amsterdam confirmed that the men escaped with approximately $500,000 in cash, one iPhone 6 and some other valuables. He stated that four persons are in custody for questioning in relation to the robbery. According to a police source, one of the four suspects is being looked at closely. The source also disclosed the men were reportedly staking out the business and waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce on the couple.
Investigations are continuing.
