Bandits
in Vergenoegen raids
THREE
10-year-old boys got the scare of their lives when three armed
bandits broke into their family home at Vergenoegen, East Bank
Essequibo, ransacked it and carried away more than $1M in cash,
jewellery and other items.
Gavin, Vikash and Kemchand Persaud (cousins) huddled together
under their sheets and pillows Monday night as the men removed a
brand new lap top computer worth Cdn$3,000, more than $200,000 in
jewellery and some $450,000 from the home at Lot 38 Quan Street,
Vergenoegen.
Men
removed a brand new lap top computer worth
Cdn$3,000
The money was being saved to build a house, relatives
said.
Relatives yesterday said that family members from overseas in
Guyana for a wedding which took place Sunday, were in the house at
Lot 24 (opposite the one that was robbed). They said they were all
on the verandah and completely unaware of what was
happening.
Big
gun - AK-47
The boys said the men wore black clothes and carried big
guns.
The gunmen also helped themselves to servings of leftover
cake, drink and candies during the 15-minute robbery, family members
said.
"When we woke up the next morning, candy and cake was all
through the house and in the yard", one said.
Canadian-based Guyanese Rena Persaud who was the bride on
Sunday, related that the men moved through the house, cursing and
just grabbing anything they could find, including passports for
family members which are still missing.
The men then fled the area on two bicycles they stole from a
neighbour the same night.
Another family, in Levans Street in the village, said they
also suffered at the hands of bandits on Monday
night.
Farmer Fazil Ibrahim said he and his wife Bibi Khan awoke
around 01:30 hrs to the sound of the lock on their chicken pen being
broken.
Ibrahim said that by the time he armed himself with a cutlass
and went downstairs, the men had already left and he only saw his
gate swinging. However, the men removed a bicycle and six roles of
wire mesh from the yard.
He
said the mesh would have been used to extend his chicken
pen.
The couple lamented that they are trying to make an honest
living and are being attacked by bandits