Bandits rob guards of ‘hundreds of thousands’

In what residents and business owners are describing as a scene from a movie, bandits staged a bold midday robbery of a G4S armored vehicle as the security guards attempted to replenish a Republic Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at St Helena Junction yesterday.

According to reports, the guards were about to access the machine when they were confronted by three bandits who took their weapons, the cash and escaped in a silver Nissan X Trail. An actual figure of the cash has not been provided, but investigators believe it may be in the “hundreds of thousands”.

Officers of the Caroni Police Station and the Las Lomas Police post responded and began conducting inquiries from the guards and eyewitnesses, however not long after arriving, members of the Praedial Larceny Squad notified the investigators that a vehicle with no licence plate and matching the description of the getaway vehicle was found in a bushy area along Centeno Farm Road, Las Lomas, a short distance away from the scene of the robbery.

None of the cash was recovered. Newsday spoke to villagers in the area who reported hearing the screech of tyres shortly before 1 pm and upon investigating saw three men entering a white Nissan CRV which sped off.

Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage of the robbery and the area where the bandits switched vehicles.

Investigations are continuing by officers of the Central Division.