Bandits escape with over $4M after armed home invasion in Corentyne

A Berbice businessman and his family are counting millions of dollars in losses after five armed, masked bandits invaded their home at Number One Road, Corentyne, on Monday night.

Speaking with reporters, Jayadevi Ramnarain said she was hanging clothes in the yard at about 20:15 hours while her mother and two children were downstairs when she noticed five men approaching the property.

She immediately raised an alarm by shouting “Thief! Thief!” as her mother ran to a neighbouring yard seeking help. However, the intruders rushed toward her and threatened her to remain silent.

According to Jayadevi, two of the bandits, armed with guns, and another carrying a cutlass forced their way into the kitchen where her father, Narindat Ramnarain, was. The remaining two suspects, one armed with a gun and the other with a cutlass, stayed outside with another female relative.

Narindat said he attempted to leave the kitchen after hearing the commotion but was confronted by the armed men, who forced him to lie face down on the floor before assaulting him with a cutlass, causing injuries to his head and back.

The businessman said the bandits then escorted him to his bedroom, where they repeatedly demanded cash. He explained that he has been buying and selling cattle, sheep and goats for the past 32 years and kept money for the business in baskets hidden beneath clothing. The suspects discovered the cash and escaped with the entire sum.

The family also reported that the bandits stole three gold rings, a gold band and a pair of earrings belonging to Jayadevi and her sister.

During the robbery, several gunshots were fired before and after the suspects fled. Two vehicles parked at the property were also struck by gunfire.

The robbers escaped with more than $4 million in cash along with gold jewellery valued at over $400,000, following the violent attack.

The terrifying ordeal has left the family deeply shaken.

“This make us traumatized. When I go upstairs to sleep I couldn’t sleep. When the thief men them go my child disappeared from me; when I do check the child covet up and deh under the bed. For me I am seeing it fresh how the men them jump in on us,” she said.

The family is urging police to carry out a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice.