Gunmen hit lumber yard

Oct 28, 2008 News

Two bandits yesterday carted off $1million in cash and an $85,000 cheque from Jettoo’s Lumber yard, as two of that entity’s staff were about to make their way to a city bank.
Ramsunder Bisnauth, manager of the lumber yard which is located on Lombard Street, told Kaieteur News that, at approximately 13:00 hrs, two of their employees, Chris Ramnarine and Campton Fraser, were about to leave the lumber yard on a motorcycle, to deposit the day’s earnings into a city bank, when two men pounced on them and ordered them off the bike.
Bisnauth said that one of the gunmen stuck the gun in Fraser’s face and ordered him to lie face down on the ground, while the other bandit held a gun under Ramnarine’s face and demanded that he hand over the bag containing the money.
According to the manager, he was at the back of the lumber yard when he heard some of the staff members screaming.
He revealed that after the gunmen got the money, they tried to escape on the bike, but failed to do so, and instead ran away on foot.
Bisnauth said that he along with other employees from the lumber yard chased after the bandits, but this proved futile, as the gunmen escaped through an alleyway in Leopold Street.
The manager explained that he did not get a ‘good look’ at the bandits, but he observed that the men were not wearing any masks, and one of them was sporting dreadlocks.
According to Bisnauth, many persons witnessed the robbery, since it occurred directly in front of the lumber yard, but they refused to render any assistance, as both men were armed.
Police arrived on the scene approximately ten minutes after the incident had occurred, but by then the men had already made good their escape.
The two employees were taken to the Brickdam Police Station to give statements, while ranks on a police patrol were busy looking for the gunmen.
The manager told this newspaper that this is the first incident to have occurred at the lumber yard, as he noted that it is normal for the employees to take the day’s earnings to the bank every day.
He is now of the belief that the lumber yard was being keenly watched by the bandits, as he pointed out that it is usually around that time that the employees would leave to make deposits at the bank.
“This is a huge blow to the company. A lot of hard work has gone down the drain,” Bisnauth said.
In light of the robbery, the company is now looking to implement additional security measures at the lumber yard, such as more secur