Latest update November 23rd, 2024 1:00 AM
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More caution required during busy shopping period – City Constabulary
In light of the recent upsurge in breakages at Stabroek Market, Assistant Superintendent of the City Constabulary Department, Gordon Langevine is once again urging stallholders and shoppers to be increasingly vigilant during the holiday shopping period.
Speaking with this newspaper yesterday, Langevine said that during the Christmas season, “vendors, stallholders and even shoppers are asked to be on their guard for thieves and burglars.”
Assistant Supt. Gordon Langevine
He emphasized that a new strategy has been implemented by the crime-fighting unit to combat the increase of illegal activities at the Stabroek Market square.
“We have added security on patrol day and night; we will be targeting those who loiter in and around the Market area. Ranks will be on street patrol since Stabroek Market is a central and lucrative business area that attracts a lot of consumers.”
“We have asked that stallholders cease blocking entrances with goods and merchandise so that we can stand from one end of the line and see clearly to the next. We may be able to avoid the cluster in the day because the place is usually busy with commuters…but what happens is that during this time stallholders stock up on goods, which they may not be able to store properly, so it is placed in the passageway. We have asked that they avoid this practice. We have heightened security during this period and we are asking all those who traverse the area to exercise more caution.”
In addition, the Assistant Superintendent says that they have arrested a few persons caught up in criminal activity.
“Only a few days ago, we conducted a raid and arrested someone for narcotics in the same Bazaar. That person is set to go before the court.”
Several stalls had been burglarised in the Stabroek Market earlier this year and thieves carted off millions of dollars worth of jewellery and other merchandise.
Within the space of one month, three separate stallholders in the Stabroek Bazaar have been reportedly robbed by bandits who apparently are targeting “bamboo” wrappers (used to smoke cigarettes and other substances) and cash, which stallholders would take with them when they close their stalls.
The most recent victim was H. Balram’s Haberdashery, last weekend. The burglars broke the locks used to secure the premises and stole $100,000 in cash and all of his cases of “bamboo” while his other products remained intact.
A few stalls away, the owner of Babaloo Confectionery detailed that she had to reinforce her stall with grills. She was the victim of two burglaries. The second occurred just one month ago.
On the first occasion over $4M was stolen from the business – money which was not taken to the bank. The second breakage saw the thieves cut the locks and gain entry to the business, stealing all her “bamboo” stocks, while also making off with $20,000 in cash from the drawer.
Just opposite her stall was another confectionery business (Bibi’s) that was robbed two weeks earlier of some of its stocks and approximately $90,000.
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