KNews security guard admits help planning robbery

Oct 13, 2022 News

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…as police search for more stolen $$$

Kaieteur News – Investigations are still ongoing into the armed robbery that took place at Kaieteur News on Monday and there are still lots of cash to be recovered from the multi-million dollar heist.

Investigators so far have managed to recover some $14M and while they continue to press the suspects for information on the rest of the money, Kaieteur News staffers are still in a state of shock after police on Wednesday disclosed that their colleague, Joshua Junor, a security guard who has been serving company for a number of years, admitted to being part of the robbery.

According to police, Junor admitted to the crime and most likely will be charged with the man he had planned the robbery with, his friend and an ex-employee of the company, Ryan Wharton, 33.

The two had started planning to rob Kaieteur News a while back but had only finalised their scheme on Sunday morning at Wharton’s Tucville, Georgetown  home. They contracted two other men to assist them in carrying out the robbery plan and those suspects were identified as Ivor Belingie popularly known as “WildLife” and Harry Stongster, a 36-year-old taxi driver of Hyde Park Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Wharton reportedly provided Belingie with an unlicensed gun to carry out a stick-up during the heist and he also borrowed a Toyota Spacio motorcar from his cousin, Lemuel Grant, 23, who is presently in custody, to transport them to their location.  They installed a fake number plate on the borrowed car and on Monday after midnight, they put their plan into motion.

Junor was on duty at the time when Wharton pulled up at Kaieteur News’ office located on Saffon Street, Charlestown in the borrowed car with Belingie and Stongster inside the passenger seats.

Belingie reportedly barged into the building first and held a clueless 63-year-old security guard and his accomplice Junor at gunpoint. He forced them into one of the rooms of the building where they were reportedly ordered to lie face down.

A few seconds later, Stongster, and Wharton entered the building and walked straight upstairs. They broke open the door of the Accounts Department and then broke open one draw from a desk. The two bandits removed the little cash that was inside and then proceeded to remove a safe containing millions in cash, a pistol and boxes of ammunition from underneath the desk but while they were doing this, Belingie grabbed another clueless employee, a graphic artist who had returned from purchasing some late night snacks and forced him to lie down in the room as well.

They fetched the safe downstairs and then turned off the lights before taking it outside and placing it into the borrowed car. Wharton waited in the driver seat as Stongster returned to alert Belingie that it was time to make their escape. The car drove off speedily turned into Sussex Street.  Junor their accomplice came out shortly after to make sure they were gone before informing his superiors that they had been robbed of their cell phones and $5000 cash at gunpoint.

Footage of the robbery was obtained from the building’s security cameras and investigators were able to crack the case within one day after one of the bandits caught on camera was identified as an ex-employee, Wharton.

He was arrested later in the day and confessed to plotting the robbery with one of the on duty security guards, Junor. Junor was arrested and questioned. It was during the interrogation that Junor confessed to police that he was only playing a victim during the robbery.

He said that he knew that his accomplices were coming to rob the company and had been communicating with them all the time. The security guard even led police to recover some of the stolen cash he received for playing his part in the robbery.

Upon receiving the news, his colleagues were left shock at how well he acted by playing a victim in a well orchestrated robbery.  One of them even recalled asking him if he was traumatized by the entire ordeal and he said yes. Others even recalled him attempting to help them gather information to assist police with their investigation. No one suspected he was one of the bandits who robbed the company.

Meanwhile, Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall said, “Well, I am happy that police acted swiftly and were able to pick up all the conspirators but I am more concerned about my valuables that were stolen”. Apart from the $14M cash that investigators have recovered so far, the stolen gun and ammunitions were found in house of Collis Heywood at Tucville. He too is in custody assisting with police investigations.

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