Latest update February 16th, 2025 7:47 AM
Dec 07, 2012 News
A jewellery store owner was yesterday tallying his losses, estimated to be in the millions, after a major heist at his Stabroek Market establishment. Sanjaya Jewellers, stall 38, section 3 in the main market square was burgled of mostly diamond and gold jewellery, while a large quantity of cash was also carted off.
Town Clerk Carol Sooba and other Constabulary officials discuss the break-in with the store owner (second from right)
In what appeared to be a movie-like operation, the thieves used a blow torch to access padlocks securing iron grills, and an electric saw to cut open the wooden door separating them from millions of dollars worth of valuables.
The store owner reported that early in the morning, he arrived at the store to start business for the day when he noticed a curious sight of” black spots on the iron grill”. The man said he then sought to open the padlocks on the grill door, but received the shock of his life when he saw that they were gone.
The businessman said he immediately opened the wooden door and noticed shavings and other debris on the shop floor. He recounted that the next thing saw was a ransacked interior and it immediately dawned on him that thieves had struck.
“Right away I dashed over to the Constabulary outpost in the bazaar and reported the matter.”
When Kaieteur News arrived on the scene, ranks from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) were involved in intense investigations. With the jewellery store remaining closed for the day, they scrutinized the crime scene, dusting for fingerprints, taking statements and photographs.
This publication was told that the whole incident seemed fishy, with talks of the heist being “an inside job”. Security officers for the market said that after closing time, the main building is usually secured with no one having access to the stalls inside.
It was however reported that during the night, power to the building had been cut off. Market security said that, “Around 20:30 hours (8 pm) the power went out and it did not return until five in the morning. What was strange, they said, was that “The main building, the bazaar and the wharf had no electricity, while other sections of the market were well lit.” This is despite all sections of the market receiving electricity from the same source.
The security further said that around 5:30 checks were made to the electricity main switch and it proved that the main was on the entire time. Investigators are now tasked with identifying whether the power outage was a deliberate act, a mechanical failure, or a genuine blackout.
The owner, who preferred to be referred to as Sanjaya, told media operatives that he believes his losses are close to $9M. He said the thieves went away with at least $4M in cash and $5M in jewellery. “The glass cases are empty and the jewellery is normally placed in the safe. They broke in and took the cash and the valuables,” the man lamented.
Sanjaya expressed disappointment at the market’s security. According to him, “There is no security in the market.” He said that his store had been broken into several times before but nothing is being done about the situation.
About four months ago, in almost the same manner, thieves carted off millions of dollars in jewellery from Cosmopolitan Jewellery, adjacent to Sanjaya. The owner of that store is also a victim of several other break-ins.
An irate female jewellery store owner expressed disgust with the current security situation in the market. “Long ago persons used mesh and wood to secure their stores. Now you got shutter, you got grill. You paying for additional security, yet still we getting rob.”
The woman said she has a store at the entrance of the market and she too had been the victim of theft on several occasions. “All of them from the Constabulary should be locked up. Dem and City Hall set should be jailed. If we paying a rent, we should be secured, we deserve security. Jewellers pay the most rent in the market.”
Also present at the crime scene was Acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba. She ensured the stallholders that security in the market would be beefed up and a thorough investigation would be launched into the matter. City Hall, she said, would be paying keen attention to the matter while noting that, “A report on the robbery is expected on my desk before the end of the day.”
Sooba said her information was that there were no external breaches to the compound. She said it is apparent that the robbers may have remained inside the building since there was no tampering with external entrances. While constabulary ranks can ensure that no one remains inside the building, it is impossible to know if persons stay inside the stalls, Kaieteur News was told.
Meanwhile, Sanjaya stated that there will be no Christmas for him this year.
He lamented that he has lost years of effort and money put into his business. “The next step for me is to look wuk, because I ent got no idea how Iwould be able to bounce back from this loss.”
Investigators are saying that the thieves knew exactly what they were doing and they had ample time to do it. The thieves, in an effort to remove any chance of being noticed, returned all the screws from where they were removed. They then pasted back the part of the door that was sawed through and used coloured spray to re-paint the door in its original colour, red.
Feb 15, 2025
Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has officially selected an 18-member squad, alongside four coaches, to represent the nation at the highly anticipated 2025 Caribbean Boxing...Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- You know, I never thought I’d see the day when elections in Guyana would become something... more
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]