Cops crack brazen Republic Gardens gang; recover some booty

Apr 14, 2020 News

Investigators believe that they have cracked a gang that carried out a brazen early morning home invasion last Thursday at Republic Gardens, East Bank Demerara.

The bandits in the Republic Gardens home last Thursday.

Police arrested four persons, including someone they believe is the getaway driver.
It appears security cameras and citizens’ tip-offs helped police detectives hone in on members of the gang.
Police reportedly seized some of the stolen jewellery, among other things.
Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon, who is the Commander for the East Bank Corridor, from Eccles to the Highway, confirmed that a number of persons were arrested and that significant progress was made in the case. He expects more progress in the coming hours. He did not delve into details.
The case would have seen the cooperation of detectives from two districts – the city and the East Bank. Superintendent Phillip Azore, who is the commander of Georgetown, said that a number of persons were arrested from Agricola.
Agricola is located a few villages away from Republic Gardens, an upscale gated community behind Republic Park. It is a known hotspot for criminals.
Kaieteur News was told that one of the men in custody has been identified as the getaway driver. He would have fled the scene after a relative who was alerted came to investigate.
However, the getaway car was identified and the driver who had been parked nearby the victim’s property was tracked and arrested.
The case has angered citizens as it was captured on a hidden camera. It showed children being held by the gunmen and then marched upstairs during a 40-minute stay.
According to Ryan Rajmangal, a 40-year-old businessman, he was about to leave for work on Thursday morning, shortly before 08:00hrs, when four men, two with handguns, scaled his fence and barged through his front door.
He was held at gunpoint and his children rounded up.
The gunmen did not realise that there was a hidden camera that was capturing the shocking scenes.
The gunmen tied up the businessman and a woman, and after searching and placing items in bags, they took the occupants upstairs.
There they took jewellery and cash worth up to $2M.
The frantic wife of the businessman, who was not at home at the time, was unable to reach him while the robbery was ongoing. It was when she checked her phone and saw the strange men in her home, via the security camera app, that she knew some was wrong.
She called police and a relative. The relative rushed to the scene and pressed the buzzer to the house repeatedly.
The bandits decided to cut short their stay and on barging out of the Republic Gardens home, ran into the relative. They robbed him of his phone and rings.
In the meantime, the driver of the getaway car panicked and left his passengers behind.
The men were forced to catch a taxi, it was reported.
Residents of Republic Gardens have expressed alarm. The men were all dressed as construction workers and even wore masks to protect them from COVID-19.