Gunmen tie up guards, lock them in rooms

Dec 30, 2009 News

cart off millions in equipment from engineering firm

Masked gunmen, using boats, escaped with millions in machinist equipment and computers during a robbery at the Engineering Construction Cooperative (ECI) at Friendship, East Bank Demerara shortly after midnight yesterday.
The robbers assaulted and tied up two on-site guards and remained at the scene for some three hours, disabling a GEB alarm system and severing telephone lines before breaking into various offices, containers and storerooms.
They reportedly then fled via the Demerara River, abandoning some of the excess booty by the company’s wharf.
A senior official estimated that the bandits carted off more than $10M in articles, including an estimated $5.5 M in machine tools. About $500,000 in petty cash was also stolen.
The robbers also made off with several computers, including the company’s server with confidential information about the firm’s operations.
Based on the way they operated and on the items that were taken a senior official told Kaieteur News that the robbers appeared to be knowledgeable about the company’s operations.
Hinting that there may be more to the robbery than meets the eye, he pointed to the fact that the robbers had made off with the computer server, which he described as “the nerve centre of the company.”
“The information of the server is invaluable. It contains the whole history of the company.
That’s the thing that baffles us.”
The engineering firm is located near to the Demerara River and the bandits gained entry to the compound by cutting the chain-link fence to the southern side.
According to police, security guards Frankie Jaigopaul, 68, and 64-year-old Pooran said that they were on the site at around 00:30 hrs yesterday when about six masked men with handguns pounced on them.
After beating the two guards, the intruders tied them up and locked one victim in the generator room and his colleague in another room.
The robbers then proceeded to break into the company’s offices and store-rooms.
They also wrenched open two containers during the three-hour raid.
Officials said that the robbers finally left the premises after cutting the western fence, which is located near to the river.
Kaieteur News was told that the guard who was locked in the generator room eventually untied himself and managed to break out of the room.
Police who visited the scene took away a few of the housebreaking implements that the robbers had left behind.
The two security guards were interrogated but were eventually released.
No one has been arrested.

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