FOLLOWING last Friday morning’s daring attack on the Ramada Princess Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara, investigators have discovered that a security guard who had left work hours before the heist was involved in plotting the crime.The gunman Wayne Griffith, who was captured at the scene, has provided police with the identities of the rest of the gang, and the security guard attached to the hotel was subsequently taken into custody.

Police, having searched the homes of the suspects, discovered various pieces of evidence that have confirmed their identities.

Investigators learned that the robbery had been planned weeks earlier, since there was a specific period when there was less security at the casino in the wee hours of the morning. The bandits used this information to formulate their strategy.

According to a police release, the attack began when four gunmen entered the casino and discharged several rounds into the air. After relieving a security guard of his shotgun and ammunition, the gunmen ordered patrons and staff to lie on the ground.

They then took the security guard to the cashier’s cage, where the cashier was also held at gunpoint and relieved of a still undisclosed sum of foreign and local currencies.

The men had arrived at the hotel in a white vehicle bearing a fake number plate, PRR 2545, and three of them managed to escape on foot. Police were able to apprehend one of the suspects, who was left behind in the casino. Police have also impounded the car, which was left at the scene.

Injured in the robbery were the following persons: Orlando Knights, who was shot in the left hand; Udairan Sookraj, who sustained injuries to his right hand; Police Lance Corporal Andrew Richardson, who was shot in the abdomen; Eon Garraway, who was shot in his left hand; and James Gregory, who sustained a gunshot wound to his left foot. The gunmen also assaulted staffers during the robbery.

Police have retrieved a shotgun that the bandits had taken from one of the guards, and another firearm that the gunmen disposed of after the robbery.

The security guard who was relieved of his shotgun has said that five persons walked up to him and told him not to move, before taking away his shotgun. He said he did not put up much resistance since he was outnumbered. Another guard said he was attacked while he was at a guard hut.