Bandits hijack taxi, storm Parika rum shop with high - powered rifle

Bandits hijack taxi, storm Parika rum shop with high – powered rifle

Jan 07, 2020 News

By Shikema Dey

While police focused their attention on Friday night’s robbery at a Tuschen Chinese Restaurant where a bandit was shot dead; another gang of bandits, that same evening, pounced on a bar in Parika robbing over a dozen patrons of cash and valuables.

CCTV footage showing the bandit with the rifle jumping over the counter at the bar

Kaieteur News understands that the incident occurred around 11:30pm, at the Fresh Rum Shop located at Lot 660 Parika, East Bank Essequibo.
According to reports, a silver-coloured wagon pulled up alongside the shop and four men exited the motorcar. One brandished a high-powered rifle, while another carried a handgun; the two other bandits were armed with knives.
When the men entered the establishment, about ten customers were imbibing and playing games.
From CCTV footage seen by Kaieteur News, the bandit carrying the rifle entered the bar first and went straight to the counter, pushing away customers, before grabbing the owner of the establishment, Kumar Ramdat.
The bandit dealt Kumar Ramdat a lash to his head with the gun and relieved him of a quantity of US and local currency, a Samsung phone valued $36,000, along with two bunches of keys, his driver’s licence and his National ID card.
According to Ramdat, the men also removed an undisclosed sum of cash from the Game Shop section of the bar.
Meanwhile, his accomplice who brandished the handgun pointed it to a businessman of Parika Façade and relieved him of a gold chain valued $200,000 and a gold band valued at $130,000.
Another costumer was relieved of his gold chain valued $21,000 and a female patron was relived of a Blu cell phone valued $5,000.
After cleaning the pockets of the costumers and raiding the bar, the men made good their escape in the car. Police were immediately summoned to the scene; a search was launched for the car.
The car was later found abandoned at Farm, East Bank Demerara. Investigators would later find out that the men hijacked a taxi and used it to commit the crime.
It was revealed that the car was hired from a taxi base in Tuschen. Kaieteur News was informed that three men and a woman entered the car.
The bandit who carried the rifle dealt the driver several lashes to his head with the gun and the others tied him up. They then took possession of the car.
No arrests have been made up to press time.