ARMED bandits yesterday struck at the Meadow Bank wharf on the lower East Bank, relieving a fish glue trader of a significant sum of money, and injuring two persons who happened to be in their line of fire.The victim, who was robbed of $380,000 was identified as Omar Esau, 49, of Providence, East Bank Demerara. Injured was 47-year-old Pooran Singh of Unity, East Coast Demerara, who was grazed in the abdomen by a stray bullet, and an unidentified woman, who was also hit by the same bullet.

Fishermen plying their trade at the wharf yesterday said many questionable characters are always present at the wharf in the wee hours of the morning when business is being transacted and there is need for regular police patrols.

The calls yesterday for more security are not new, since there have been a number of previous robberies that have elicited appeals for an impactful police presence at the Meadow Bank wharf.

Reliving the incident, Esau told the Chronicle:
“I would normally go to the wharf like normal to transact my fish-glue business. As soon as I park up my bus at about 3:50am, I hear a loud sound; then I see my windscreen at the driver side door get smash with a brick.”

The next thing he knew was that there was a gun pointing at him. “It was two men,” he said. “They didn’t tall, but they were young. The one with the gun took all my money, my cell phone, and even my driver’s licence. Then they run out, When they gone, I get back my licence, because, like they throw it on the ground, because it had no value to them.”

It was his third robbery in less than a year. The first was on November 7 last year, when, at the same Meadow Bank wharf, gunmen held him up while he was waiting in his minibus with a friend. They took all his money and valuables on that occasion.

The second was just last month. Thankfully, he was not at home at the time, but it was around 08:00hrs on the morning of Sunday, August 23, that gunmen decided to pay his Providence home a visit.
He would later learn from his wife and children that three bandits had stormed his home, using the open back door to gain entry. They carted off jewellery, laptops, cell phones, cash and even some fish glue.

“People in the area said they saw a silver-grey Toyota Sprinter with four men,” Esau recalled. “The driver waited in the car, while the other three rush into the house, and later went away with everything.”

The popular Meadow Bank seafood trading facility is frequented daily by scores of customers from as early as 05:30hrs. Persons travel from far-off communities to make their purchases, as fish and shrimp are sold at competitive prices.

Police visited the scene yesterday, and reports were taken. (Rabindra Rooplall)