Bandits stage $million heist, guard dog does nothing

While police investigate a million-dollar robbery at a WASA compound in Chaguanas last month, one of the security guards who was tied up, beaten and locked in a container, yesterday recounted the incident to Newsday.

The guard, who asked not to be named, said none of the guards were prepared for the bandits, and neither was a trained german shepherd guard dog named Max. Instead of attacking the bandits and protecting the property, Max befriended them and was playing with them while they made off with close to a million dollars' worth of various items.

The robbery happened on September 11, at the Edinburgh Office on Perseverance Road, in Chaguanas. The compound was guarded by officers from two companies – Universal Protective Services Ltd (UPSL), where Max is stationed, and Protec Intelligence Services Ltd.

At about 10 pm, while the guards were on patrol, six armed bandits sneaked onto the compound, confronted the guards, disarmed them and tied them up. The security guard told Newsday he was standing with a colleague who was handling Max when the bandits approached.

“It was very dark and the men had masks on. They walked up to us with guns and told us to lie on the ground. We were taken totally by surprise and they had their guns on us, so we listened to what they said. As we got on the ground the men started to beat us.

"Meanwhile the dog wasn’t doing anything. While I was on the ground I looked up and saw one of the bandits playing with the dog while other men were kicking and beating us.”