Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 05, 2021 News
Kaieteur News- While the statistical reports released by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in April, show robberies have decreased significantly for the year so far, Kaieteur News has observed that the brazen form in which they are committed is becoming a norm around the city.
According the GPF, it had recorded a 38.4% decrease in armed robberies committed with guns for the first four months of 2021. The force had also said that for the same period, armed robberies perpetrated with the use of other instruments decreased by 47.7%.
Many have applauded the decrease but based on reports reaching this newspaper, the acts of robbery are so brazen that citizens are afraid to walk the streets of Georgetown and certain locations on the East Bank and East Coast Demerara.
Some eyewitnesses of these brazen acts have even related that they occur so frequently, it is causing them to doubt the GPF’s statistics that robberies have decreased.
In fact, on Saturday Night, a Kaieteur News reporter while sitting in a minibus in the East Coast bus park, witnessed a man being choked and robbed by three bandits. The reporter recalled that it was just around 20:30 hrs when the passengers in the bus said “Watch! Watch wa going deh! Dem robbing duh man!”
As the Kaieteur News’ staff looked in the direction they pointed to, he observed a man caught in a chokehold by an individual on a red BMX bicycle. Another braced him against a Pitbull minibus and punched him a few times about his body before attempting to take off one of his shoes.
A third bandit, ‘chubby looking’ and dressed in dark blue T-shirt and a long pair of blue denim jeans searched his pockets. The victim tried to fight them off but they over powered him. The chubby looking bandit relieved him of what appeared to be his wallet and a cellphone. The suspect then ran towards America Street while the other escaped on the red BMK bicycle towards Stabroek Market. It appeared as if the victim was left in a state of shock. He stood for a few seconds with his hands on his head.
It seemed too, that the bandits were lucky because just minutes later, a police car with ranks inside drove by and passed the victim standing on the corner. It appeared as though he was heading to catch a bus to go home before the robbery but made an about turn and walked back towards the Stabroek Market, probably to lodge a report at the Police outpost located there.
Passengers in the bus began whispering to each other. “Them bare face, they robbing the man right deh”. Some local touts on the park were also heard saying among themselves “Bai dat is why you does ga got yuh strap fuh drop some of them”.
The reporter began inquiring if such brazen acts of robbery occur in that location frequently and many including nearby vendors echoed “almost every day somebody does get robbed pon this park.”
Another individual sitting in a minibus also said that minutes prior to the robbery he was almost robbed too but was saved by a conductor.
He had stopped to buy a phone card at Stabroek market and then decided to walk towards the East Coast bus park. While approaching America Street, he noticed two men following him. He claimed that he suspected they were bandits so he began to walk faster but they started to speed up behind him too. As he approached the bus park, he saw a bus and decided to run into it as quickly as possible.
“I felt as if they tried to grab my haversack but I did not look back but all I heard is the conductor ‘yall lef the man alone; yall is deh pon s***t out here’”, related the man.
Kaieteur had also received reports earlier during the day that security guards, maids and residents of Republic Park, Nandy Park and other areas close to the Demerara Harbour Bridge Area, are being robbed every day by motor bike bandits.
These take place in the morning hours while these individuals would walk along a Street located beside the St Peters Catholic Church and M&M Snackette located on the Eastern end of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, East Bank Demerara.
One such individual who identified herself as “Carly” was robbed by motorbike bandits in that same location on Saturday during the morning hours.
Carly was attacked by two men on a motorcycle who had beaten her and stole her bag which contained only “bread”.
She even showed this newspaper her scars from the beating. Her forehead was swollen as result of the blows she received to her face.
Kaieteur News heard too that some two weeks ago, a male passenger snatched a woman’s gold chain from around her neck while exiting a route 42 minibus in the vicinity of Care Car located at Bagotstown on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
Other passengers on the same bus recalled that it was 17:00Hrs that day that the bandit called out for the bus to stop in front of Car Care.
As he stepped out he grabbed a lady’s chain and then ran around to one of the windows and attempted to relieve another woman of her gold ring.
Realizing that he was a bandit, the driver exited to confront him but he ran across the East Bank Public Road into Bagotstown and escaped.
The driver reportedly stopped a police officer patrolling on a motorbike and reported the matter to him.
These are just a few of the brazen acts of robbery that were committed across the city recently.
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