FOUR former employees of the Avinash branch stores complex were each sentenced to 56 months imprisonment on Monday, on being convicted of stealing $24M worth of textiles from the company’s La Bonne Intention (LBI) bond in 2004.

Dennis Ramkarran, Dinesh Singh, Deoroop Sugrim and Kumar Kalladin faced trial before Magistrate Judy Latchman at  Sparendaam Court, also

on East Coast Demerara.
The case, that eventually started on June 5, 2012, had prolonged through an eight months period because the quartet had approached the High Court to abort the proceedings and there were previously numerous delays, due to the changing of magistrates.
Particulars of the offence said the convicts stole 1,549 rolls of fabric valued $24 M, property of the Avinash stores.
The Prosecution, conducted by Police Superintendent Fizul Karimbaksh, led evidence that the prisoners stole keys, for a bond, which they duplicated and used to remove suiting materials that they took to Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara.
The thieves were placing the booty in a vehicle to transport it elsewhere, the next day, when Police, accompanied by one of the company’s directors, caught them.
During the Police investigations, the defendants had given caution statements, to which their Defence Counsel Euclin Gomes objected during the trial but his objection was overruled and the attestations were admitted in evidence.
In her ruling, Magistrate Latchman noted testimony from 16 witnesses who testified and said that, with the caution statements, collectively they were sufficient to prove the case against the men.
Before conviction, the men were on $1.2M bail, individually.