Remigrant contemplates abandoning business plans

Feb 03, 2009 News

A Guyanese who plans to re-migrate and invest in the hotel industry is currently contemplating the wisdom of his decision, following a robbery at the site of his business.

The front of the hotel on Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge is a deception of the emptiness inside, after bandits had carried away the television sets

The four-storeyed structure is situated at 7 Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge. It is 75 percent completed, and should have been in its final stages, but for the theft of more than 26 Dynex 19-inch flat screen television sets.
Apart from the capability to operate like a television set, the sets have the capacity to perform the functions of a computer, and may be very expensive to replace. Consequently, the owner has offered a reward to anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of the sets.
Yesterday, the police said that more than a month later, nothing has been recovered.
The man’s nephew, Michael Ifill, is performing caretaker duties and occupies a room on the third floor. All told, the building consists of 29 rooms on the first three-storeys. The top floor has been designed to accommodate a bar and games room.
The robbery occurred early one morning when Ifill and two other family members were asleep in one of the rooms on the third floor.

Ifill said that he was awakened by a shuffling sound in his room, and when he opened his eyes, he was confronted by seven men armed with pistols. Ifill also said that the men all wore masks. The still traumatized caretaker recounted that two of the men ordered the trio to lie on the floor, then they began to bind their hands behind their backs.

The trio was then bundled in the bathroom while the men used a cell phone to summon their accomplices, who apparently were nearby.

The bandits then disconnected the television sets, and packed them in their vehicle before making good their escape.
Ifill said that shortly after the bandits left the building, his cousin managed to free himself and subsequently released the others. He later lodged a report at the East La Penitence Police Station.
Ifill said that the management has since decided to withhold any further shipment until the hotel is properly secured. He said that his uncle plans to return to Guyana within a month to assess the cost of the losses. According to Ifill, the downturn in the US economy has precluded his uncle from completing the project, and he is currently contemplating selling the structure in its unfinished state.
Ifill said that the workers, who were temporarily off the site, were scheduled to restart work on the building yesterday. He also said that a decision on whether his uncle would want to continue with the investment would only be known when he returns to Guyana later this month.