Armed bandits strike again at Popeye’s

Aug 27, 2015 News

The bandits’ trail of destruction

Once again, the Popeye’s Vlissengen Road outlet has played target for men, hungry for cash, not food.

The fast food establishment has been hit with a spate of robberies since it opened its doors, and bandits paid yet another visit around 20:45 hours last evening – this time smashing glass doors and leaving terrified customers behind.

It is unclear how much money was taken, but a family who was there when Kaieteur News arrived, said that the two men – mostly indistinguishable from other customers – had entered the restaurant and within minutes a supervisor came running out, alerting them that the place was being robbed.

The supervisor, it was explained, locked-down the fast food restaurant, thinking that the men were trapped. But the glass doors were no match for the two men who soon smashed it and sped away by foot.

As they hurried to leave through the North-Eastern driveway, the family noticed that it was the very two young men who had entered minutes before, wearing black outfits. This time, however, their faces were covered with masks.

“They entered like regular customers and apparently, they put on masks when they were inside. Everything happened really fast,” one family member stated.

Having cleared the driveway, one of the bandits reportedly fired a gunshot in the air. According to the family, it was then that confusion ensued: children who were occupying the play park scattered and parents and other patrons were desperately seeking safety.

Shortly after, they heard another shot being fired some distance away. Investigations by this newspaper revealed that the men had joined two accomplices who were waiting on motorbikes.

Twenty seven-year-old businessman, Ian Jupiter, told this publication that around 21:00 hours he was driving home, but as he turned onto Duncan Street, he almost ran into four men – two each on two motorbikes – who were racing by.

He said in retaliation the men fired a shot at the right side of his vehicle which penetrated the vehicle, missing his right leg. He said it wasn’t until he went to the Kitty Police Station to report what had happened to him that he learnt that the fast food restaurant had been robbed and the men who shot him were most likely those who orchestrated the robbery.

Further investigations by this newspaper revealed that the three elderly security guards hired by the entity are unarmed and often times asked to perform other duties, completely unrelated to safety.

Kaieteur News was told that the guard who usually looks over the front entrance of the restaurant was in fact sweeping up the area at the time of the robbery and was unaware of what had transpired.

“You know how much times this place get robbed and still they won’t hire armed people to protect this place during work hours, and then they make dem men do all kinds of work,” one man expressed.

The fast food restaurant was robbed of millions twice before over the last year: once in September and November 2014.