Latest update September 7th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 14, 2011 News
– says businessman Malcolm Panday
– mother in law, cousin among those arrested
By Latoya Giles
“Pure greed and envy” were some of the words businessman Malcolm Panday used after he learnt that his mother-in-law and his wife’s two first cousins were the persons who masterminded the attack on his family on Tuesday.
Bandits carried out the brazen multi-million-dollar robbery on Tuesday at Panday’s Bel Air Park home, while his wife, Anne Ramsood, two children and five maids were home.
However swift action by the police helped capture three of the fleeing suspects in the compound of the Ocean Spray Hotel at Stanley Place Kitty, after a brief shootout, The police had trailed them from the robbery scene.
Another was arrested in Queen Street, Kitty while two others were captured on West Ruimveldt Front Road.
Kaieteur News understands that police also recovered an unlicensed nine millimeter pistol, eight rounds of ammunition and $350,000 in cash. According to police sources yesterday the mother-in-law Chandrada Rampersaud and her nephew, Hardat Puran, as well as another relative, were arrested shortly before midnight on Tuesday at Pigeon Island, East Coast Demerara.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, yesterday, the businessman said that it was upsetting to know that his three in-laws were involved in the planning of the robbery.
According to Panday, it was Rampersaud who told Puran about the money in the family and who in turn told one of the suspects who was arrested yesterday.
According to sources, the gang was planning the robbery for over three months. Kaieteur News was further told that the arrest of the three relatives came after one of the suspects who were arrested on Tuesday at the hotel started to comply with the police.
The police were told that it was the mother-in-law who came up with the plan since another relative who was formerly employed there had found out about the safe in the home.
According to sources, that same relative has a pending matter before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton, in which they allegedly stole $1.4M from Panday. That matter is expected to conclude next month.
Kaieteur News was further told that it was Ramsood’s cousin who was arrested that started planning with one of the suspects who was arrested on Tuesday.
That suspect allegedly went to ex-cop Sean Hinds, and a meeting was set up between the mother-in-law and the other suspects.
Panday told Kaieteur News the bandits allegedly told the investigators that it was the mother-in-law who specifically told them that her daughter, Annie, would be home at that special time, and that she would give the money without any fight.
He said that the mother-in-law called her daughter just 30 minutes before the bandits came, just to find out if she was home.
Panday said that his wife was having a difficult time.
“I think my wife is having a more difficult time since it was her own mother, who planned for these men to put a gun to her head,” Panday told this newspaper.
Panday said that his mother-in-law was probably out of her mind when she planned this disastrous act against her own daughter and grandchildren.
“This entire ordeal has terrified my children…My son woke up twice last night screaming that the gunmen were coming back…How could she put her family through this?” Panday queried yesterday.
Panday said that his mother-in-law has done something that could have caused casualty.
The businessman could not specify the amount that was taken but noted that the money was there to make payments and it was only Rampersaud and Puran who could have known about this.
The police had reported that Mr. Panday was with his wife, Anne Ramsood, their children and domestic employees at around 11:30 hrs when the gunmen entered the premises.
However, the businessman, who owns a chain of clothing stores, managed to slip away to a neighbour’s home and summoned the police.
Two of the men forced the businessman’s wife to open a safe from where they took an undisclosed sum of local and foreign currency before escaping in a waiting motor car bearing registration plates PKK 3700.
But the police, who responded quickly, intercepted the vehicle in the hotel compound in Kitty.
According to the police, the four men exited the vehicle and opened fire on the ranks who returned fire.
Three of the men were arrested and, as indicated, a gun, ammunition and cash were recovered.
Further investigations led to the interception of motor car PMM 9436 at Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, the arrest of three other men, and the recovery of more of the stolen money.
Mr. Panday’s wife, who arrived at the Ocean Spray Hotel after receiving word that the men were cornered there, identified the three suspects.
Recounting her ordeal, Ms. Ramsood told reporters she was with her husband, two children and five maids when they heard a knock at the front door. One of the maids was going outside at the same time while the bandits were at the door.
On spotting the men, Mr. Panday tried to call out to the maid, but the gunmen had already entered the premises. However, he exited a back entrance and called the police.
Once inside of the house the gunmen ordered Ramsood, her children, aged four and two, and the maids to sit on the floor.
“They asked us is who is de boss lady…but nobody ain’t answer them so they seh they gun shoot we,” Ramsood said. Fearing that the men would carry out their threat, Ramsood said she gave the men an attaché case containing money.
But then the bandits demanded that she lead them to a “safe” that the family kept in the house.
The woman said she was surprised that the men knew they kept a safe in the house.
At first, Ms. Ransamood told the bandits that she didn’t have the code for the “safe”. But she was forced to give out the code after one of the men pointed a gun at her.
Unwillingly, the woman said she punched in the code and handed over a substantial sum of local and foreign currency to the men.
The gunmen then quickly exited her home and drove off in a tinted Toyota AT 212 car.
As fate would have it, Ramsood had been speaking with her brother on her cell phone just as the bandits entered.
The phone, which she had dropped, was still on when the bandits barged in, and her brother heard the commotion.
The brother said that he saw when the car sped off from his sister’s home and immediately started following it around the Bel Air area on his motorcycle.
Shortly after, he saw a police patrol vehicle that was heading to his sister’s home and signaled to them that it was the “bandits” he was pursuing.
They trailed the bandits through the Kitty area to the Ocean Spray Hotel.
On seeing the police, the bandits opened fire, but they were eventually overpowered by the police, who had surrounded the hotel.
The lawmen began questioning the trio at the scene. Acting on information, the lawmen began to search several houses in the Kitty area, but came up empty-handed. However, they were then given the alias of the fourth bandit and the description of his clothes.
Kaieteur News understands that the suspect, identified as Kevin Maloney, was earlier seen in a nearby shop wearing a black jersey and camouflage jeans.
The police went to the shop but picked up the wrong person. About fifteen minutes after picking up that male, the police received another tip-off that Maloney had changed his clothes and was walking along Queen Street in Kitty. But this time, he had changed into a yellow jersey, blue jeans and white hat.
A police patrol in the area rushed to the scene and arrested Maloney.
While in the police vehicle, Maloney attempted to throw his cell phone to a young relative who was outside, but police managed to take possession of it.
According to sources, Maloney had a quantity of Guyana and foreign currency in his possession.
After Maloney’s arrest, police arrested two others, including former policeman Sean Hinds. According to sources, Hinds is said to have worked with the Pandays.
Maloney, who is no stranger to the police, was shot in the hip and arm on April 4, last, outside a creek on the Linden Soesdyke Highway
The police had alleged that the 27-year-old Maloney of William Street, Kitty, was also wounded while resisting arrest for drug possession.
The police had initially stated that he was wanted in connection with the murder of Police Constable 20740 Vickram Singh, who was shot dead last year at the Joint Services Scheme.
Maloney was also fingered in the robbery at the Guyana Stockfeeds Limited, in which gunmen had escaped with over $10.6M and a handgun.
Nine of those men were nabbed at a roadblock with about $2M.
Mineral and oil rich country borrowing to feed, clothe and house its citizens.
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