– Mon Repos market vendors suspicious of guardsVendors in the Mon Repos Market on the East Coast of Demerara were thrown into further frustration yesterday after robbers, for the fifth time in six months, broke into several stalls, carting off millions of dollars in valuables.The heist occurred despite the fact that the facility is manned by three guards at a time, fueling speculation of some amount of complicity.The roof of Puran’s stall, where the bandits made their entryThe stalls, which are located in the last lane to the south of the market, were broken into during the hours of 23:00 hours on Wednesday and 03:00 hours yesterday.From all indications the thieves used hammers and claw bars to break their way into the stalls and still the guards on duty maintained they heard nothing in the silence of the night.The affected vendors are very suspicious of the guards who they said “never see or hear anything.”The vendors told Kaieteur News that “the men who are in their 50’s and 60’s were hired by the Lusignan Neighbourhood Democratic Council.“Dem seh dem come fuh guard and not fuh look after the people stalls,” one vendor told this newspaper.When Kaieteur News visited the scene, Anita Persaud, a single mother of two, was sitting in her stall number 299 with tears in her eyes as she related the losses, in what is now the fourth robbery which she and her children have suffered. Persaud explained that the robbers entered her stall by breaking the locks on the door.They took a compressor valued at more than $200,000 and an additional $200,000 in clothing which had not yet been paid for.The distraught woman related that she feels helpless and broken, since she not only has to repay such a huge amount of money, but is still saddled with school fees, light bill and rent for both her stall and home, among other expenses. She estimated that as a result of all the breakages, she has lost a total of $1.5M.Owner of stall # 298, Narendra Puran, better known as Tota, told Kaieteur News that after the thieves failed to gain entry into his jewellery and cellular phone store via the front door, they decided to try the ceiling. They managed to pull $50,000 in items through a portion of grillwork.Puran, who has been robbed twice before,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, vented his anger on the guards who he said always claim that they had not heard or seen anything. He previously suffered a similar fate in September last year, losing $900,000 on that occasion. The police he said always claim that they have neither witnesses nor suspects.Bibi Salima Khan, owner of stall #294-295, told Kaieteur News that the thieves gained access to her clothing stall by breaking the “shuttle”- (a shed that also works as a door for the front of the stall).Khan says that she was robbed of $500,000 worth of clothing, footwear and mosquito nets.The woman told Kaieteur News that she lost $300,000 in a previous burglary.Maureen Rampertab, the owner of stalls #293 and 310, which house two separate gift shops, was robbed of over $500,000 in brand name makeup, under garments, lingerie, colognes and jewelry.These are mainly Victoria’s Secret, Avon, Sterling Silver jewellery and Liz Taylor’s products. Rampertab, who was robbed for the first time, explained to this newspaper that the robbers broke the locks to the doors to both of her stalls and stripped the mannequins of expensive underwear and lingerie.“I have established myself here. Now people know about me and are coming to me. It took me three years to build this clientele I now have. My worry is the price to re-stock,” Rampertab said.The angry and distraught victims of yesterday’s heist all maintained that they are very suspicious of the three guards since it is absurd for them to not have heard, or seen anything during the raid, which they are convinced lasted for several hours.However, this publication understands that one guard has claimed that he saw some men in the market during the hours when the stalls were being attacked. The vendors are wondering why he didn’t stop them, or at least raise an alarm.The three guards are in custody at the Beterverwagting Police Station assisting with the investigation.The vendors said that they have had enough, and are not prepared to continue to incur losses because of the guards’ lackadaisical behavior.The vendors are calling on the Neighbourhood Democratic Council to hire professional security guards.
