Fake security guards duct tape staff at GTT’s Giftland Mall branch, cart off GY$19.4 million

Last Updated on Friday, 9 September 2022, 8:42 by Denis Chabrol

Bogus guards, pretending to be from a security service that usually uplifts the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company’s (GTT) earnings, on Thursday night carted off a GY$13,420,487  and GY$6,015,524 in cheques from that telecoms company’s branch at Giftland Mall, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.

Police said the robbery occurred at about 9:45 Pm by two masked men who were armed with hand guns and dressed in the uniform used by a private security service that usually uplifts money from the outlet when it closes.

According to a GTT Supervisor, who is 27-years old,  two ‘Security officers’ from the private security firm would normally uplift cash at nights on completion of their tour of duty.

“The employee said that herself along with five other staff members were on duty at the GTT booth, when the two suspects, wearing face masks fully dressed in the said security uniforms, approached her and checked the bags with the cash as per normal.

One of the suspects then went outside to the other staff members and brandished a hand gun at them. They were instructed to ‘get on the floor’ to which they complied. The other suspect who was in the supervisor’s room took out a hand gun from his pants waist and told supervisor to go on the floor, which she did,” police said.

The victims told police that the suspects placed duct tape on the hands and mouths of the GTT staffers and locked them in the booth. “The perpetrators then took the said cash mentioned, exited through a back door, made their way into the Giftland parking lot and entered a white old model Raum (number unknown) and made good their escape heading east on the Railway Embankment,” police said.

Police added that a short while after, the staff members managed to free themselves and an alarm was raised but by that time the suspects had already left the scene.