BUSINESSMAN Looknarine Basdeo received a blow to his business of selling paint when bandits broke into his shop at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara sometime between Sunday night and early yesterday morning.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that the losses which included oil and water paint could reach the $3M mark, taking into account some 500 gallons in addition to other items taken from the shop.

Basdeo said that he was out of the country but the business was still in operation. He said that on Sunday the store was open until 14:00 hrs, but when a worker entered the store yesterday for business he realised that the stock of paint at the front of the store was missing. A further check revealed that the store had been broken into from the south eastern side.
The frustrated man said that his store has been the target of break-ins over the last eight years and sometimes it occurs twice a year. However, most of the robberies occur during Christmas season and this forces him to visit the bank to take out a new loan in addition to cutting back on staff.
He pointed to the imminent situation of cutting back on staff this coming January after the Christmas given the recent break-in. Basdeo said that he invested heavily in the security of his business with the installation of surveillance cameras but the cameras became damaged with the steady and unannounced upgrades and other work of the power company, which is located aback the area where a number of stalls are located.
He showed this newspaper some cameras which he bought overseas but again he is worried about the damage to his property by the power company.
Meanwhile, speaking with this newspaper, yesterday, a police source indicated that the persons who committed the robbery might have used the waterway as their means of arriving at the location and making off with their booty.
Since the matter was reported at the Vreed- en-Hoop Police Station, the police have arrested three persons for questioning.
There are also reports that several minibus operators who are usually in that area early in the morning were robbed of items they had on their person. However, when this publication arrived in the area on Monday the operators declined to speak on the matter.

(Leroy Smith)