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Two gunmen held up an America Street businessman, escaped with his Toyota Rav 4, which contained a bag with a reported $12M in jewellery and then led the police on a high-speed chase that ended at Le Repentir Cemetery.
But while the vehicle was recovered, up to press time the men had not been captured although the police cordoned off a large bushy area to the south of the Mandela dump site where they believed the men had fled to.
Ramesh Bhagoo, who plies his trade on America Street,
was held up by the men around 16:00 hours yesterday at
the corner of Broad and Saffon Streets where he had
stopped to collect a Mother’s Day gift for his
mother.
He said that he was standing outside his vehicle when
the two men appeared to be drinking Guinness at a
nearby shop, approached him with guns drawn.
The men ordered him to lie on the ground and since his
vehicle keys were still in the ignition, they sped
away with the vehicle.
Some persons at a nearby vulcanizing shop who watched
the event unfold, were forced to duck for cover when
the two gunmen discharged two rounds in their
direction, shattering the side glass of another parked
RAV 4, PLL 752.
“They shout and tell we, ‘All yuh ain’t see
nothing and fire two shots’,” an eyewitness said.
The men drove the vehicle through the Albouystown area
and eventually abandoned it in Le Repentir Cemetery
near the Mandela Avenue dumpsite.
Meanwhile, Bhagoo quickly made his way to the Brickdam
Police Station where he reported the matter and the
police responded promptly.
But unaware of the direction the men had fled,
several ranks proceeded up the East Bank Demerara
Highway, eventually turning back after failing to get
a trace on the stolen vehicle.
They eventually received word that it was in Le
Repentir Cemetery and immediately proceeded there.
But by then the bandits had already stripped the
vehicle of its CD player and had made off with two
bags, one of which contained the jewellery and another
in which were five tape decks.
However, the men had not gone far when the police
arrived. Eyewitnesses told the police that they saw
the two men fleeing east into the thick bush adjacent
to the cemetery. They had entered the area from
Cemetery Road.
The police quickly established a cordon that stretched
from Cemetery Road to Mandela Avenue after observing
fresh tracks into the bushes.21
But it was quickly getting dark and despite the strong
belief that the men were holed up in the bushes, the
risk of pursuing them became greater.
By nightfall the police gave up the hunt.
Sunday, May 10, 2009