Armed bandits last evening robbed the Budget Supermarket just before 20.00hrs leaving the staff and several customers traumatised.This is not the first time the business place has been robbed and management is now under pressure to put adequate security arrangements in place to ensure the safety of the staff and customers. According to information received by this publication, two men walked into the supermarket with pistols and robbed the cashier of the night’s earning and also robbed a plainclothes police rank of his gold chain in the process.

According to a security guard at the establishment, he saw a customer and her son running into the store and several other persons. He said that at first he thought it to be a fight between persons but then soon realised that it was bandits who were invading the premises. The man stated that one of the men wore a mask over his face and the other wore a bandanna. As the men entered the store the staff and those shopping at the time lay on the ground in panic mode as the men emptied the cash register.
When the men finished their deed they left the building and jumped on a motorcycle and fled the area in the direction of Stone Avenue.
Meanwhile, as the police arrived at the location the proprietor of the store locked himself and the staff inside and was reportedly having a meeting. Police ranks who first responded to the information about the robbery did not receive the cooperation of the businessman.
One police rank asked the man for them to be allowed to review CCTV footage of the premises so that they will would be able to know if the description of the men who robbed the premises but this request was denied as the storeowner informed the rank that his remote control for the cameras to the building was not working.
The rank immediately offered to have the technician from the Guyana Police Force to come to the scene and assist the process but again the man again refused to agree. When the man was finished his meeting with his staff, he ordered the doors to the supermarket be opened and was attempting to send the staff home. This is even as the police informed him that they needed to be questioned in relation to what they might have seen, especially the cashier who was robbed during the ordeal.
After much reluctance the man finally agreed and the police were allowed entry to the store and they questioned the staff members who were on duty at the time.

By Leroy Smith