Cops arrest robbery victims after "funny" story

Cops arrest robbery victims after “funny” story

Dec 28, 2018 News

A couple of Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder, who were victims of a break and enter and larceny are not pleased with the manner in which the investigation is being conducted by ranks of the Mibicuri Police Station, CID.
Shamwattie Ramdeo, called “Sunita”, who runs her business in Mibicuri, told this publication at her home that she was arrested along with her husband on Christmas Day after they reported a break and enter committed on their home Christmas Eve night.
According to Ramdeo, she, her husband and some other family members had left their home Monday night for the annual Christmas Eve celebrations at Rose Hall Town. When they returned home some time around 21:30 hours they discovered that the door to the lower flat was ajar.
“We went Christmas Eve but my teenage son did not go with us; he went with my mother. When we come back home, I had the key with me but I find him in the house, so I asked him how he got in the house and said the door was open.
“I did not really take it serious because I said I must have forgotten to close the door but to my knowledge I closed it. Then when we check around my husband ask me how come I did not remember to close the window which was downstairs so when I was about to close it I notice all the louvers glass missing”.

The Mibicuri home.

She stated that at that point they realised someone had broken into their home and they subsequently ventured to the upper flat and there her husband discovered the bedroom door broken.
“When we go in the room we see all the drawers and clothes and everything tumble up and on the floor. I had a wallet with money inside; all the money was missing from the wallet but I did not want to touch anything else only the wallet I picked up and checked,” she explained.
According to the woman, they immediately retreated to the Mibicuri Police Station and reported the matter but the ranks told them that there were only two police ranks on duty at the station and that “they can’t come; that they will send somebody in the morning”.
She added that she awoke early Christmas morning and was waiting on the police to show up but after waiting for several hours she decided to call the Whim Police Station and they instructed her not to touch anything and not to enter the bedroom.
Ramdeo said that a while after the police arrived and took pictures of the scene. They also asked a few questions, they then told her to “pack up back your stuff”, but she stated that she left things as they were.
Shortly after, another CID rank showed up and also took pictures and dusted for fingerprints. During his search of the home he reportedly discovered a black plastic bag with cash that was covered with clothing on the floor. She stated that was some money that she had “stashed aside”.
She said, “I guess whoever was ransacking the place and searching, when they pulled out the clothes and so on that fell out and that was what the police recovered, so they do what they had to do.
“They took a contact number from me and they said they will call.”
Ramdeo said, in a matter of minutes the police returned and told them that they were wanted at the station “right now”.
The woman explained, “When they took us there they carry my husband inside and they took statements from both of us, they also asked me to take out all my valuables and have someone collect them. They told us we have to remain there until they get a phone call.”
The woman and her husband spent the entire Christmas night and the entire Boxing Day locked up while they were forced to leave their 11 month old baby with a relative. She added that when she gave her statement to the police she told them that she had some money stashed aside that her husband did not know about. That was $400,000, she said. The rest of money totalling over US$1000 was missing.

Shamwattie Ramdeo called “Sunita”

“I kept telling the police that all the money was not put in one place but he kept telling me that I confusing him with what I telling he,” Ramdeo added. She was subsequently released on $20,000 bail yesterday morning while her husband still remains in police in custody.
However, Ramdeo is questioning the manner in which the investigation is being conducted. “Myself and husband is not supposed to be locked up: we were the ones that were robbed and they wasting time. They could have been focusing on finding the actual people that did this to us. this is backwardness.”
She is asking that the relevant authorities to look into the matter. Additionally, residents in the area were also incensed that the police had locked up the couple since many claimed that they are hard working people.
One neighbour said, “These are good people and they arresting them, they are already traumatised from the whole incident and now they have to endure this.”
Meanwhile, a senior police relayed that a file was sent to the DPP for advice on the way forward while the husband remains in custody. The senior police source had told Kaieteur News that the “story seemed funny that some money was stolen and some left back”.