Bush Lot Corentyne family reports bandit attack, end up in police custody

Mar 13, 2011 News

Bandits reportedly broke into a Bush Lot, Corentyne home, terrorised the occupants and carted off a large quantity of cash, jewelry and cellular phones on Friday evening. The couple, Yasmin and Roshan Abrahim, and their three children, were awakened by sounds from the kitchen.
They said that one of the bandits pulled a knife on the wife while the other three took control of the children and her husband. They were taken out of the bedroom and into the hall where they were all told to lie face down on the floor.

The home at Bush Lot where the bandits allegedly attacked

They said that the four men then demanded cash and jewelry. The bandits were then given some cosmetic jewelry which they refused and demanded real gold or else they would kill their victims.
They were given a cup containing three gold chains and two rings after which they ransacked the home. A car then pulled up in front of the home, blew its horn, and the bandits left with the vehicle. The men left with nearly $1M in cash and US$4,900, they said.
However, they all ended up in police custody the next day. The police questioned them in connection with the same robbery they reported.
Police attached to the Whim Police Station arrested the family of five on Saturday afternoon.
A brother of Roshan Abrahim, “Buddy” (only name given), said that he was certain that his brother and sister-in- law staged the robbery.
The man, who usually stays with the Abrahims, spent Friday night at Rose Hall Town instead.
Buddy said that it was not the first time that items have been missing from the home. He said that last November, eight Blackberry phones and one Krazr phone disappeared from the home. He is usually in the business of selling cell phones.
He said that he received a phone call after 02:00 hrs from a neighbour stating that a robbery had occurred and that all the items were gone. Detective Ragnauth and police from Whim were summoned to the scene and it was discovered that Buddy’s room had been ransacked and items were stolen.
“They is the one who do the wuk and they framing other people. Is nah other people; is them. Them a thief all the time. Them papers get through to go America, so what happen is that them gonna make them big haul; make them big thief and done”, Buddy told Kaieteur News.
He reported the matter to the police and had the entire family questioned on Saturday. The husband, wife and the children, Salim, 16; Alim, 14; and Fareeza Abrahim, 12, were all incarcerated at the Whim Police lock-ups on Saturday afternoon.
Neighbours and friends of the Abrahims are protesting that the police locked up the children, whom they said are minors. “Their children are minors; they are not supposed to lock them up. Look what this country a turn to”, a friend said.
It was also reported that the same bandits robbed a family at Alness Village, not far from Bush Lot, on Friday night as well. It rained all night in the area. (Leon Suseran)