THE casual manner in which a man stole a motorcycle from the Savannah Inn Hotel in Lethem on Christmas Eve has left the operators of the Rupununi business startled.

The incident, which was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, has left a delivery man at the hotel without his most valuable asset which he utilised to undertake his job at the hotel.

Nolan Cho-Yee of the Savannah Inn told this publication that around 18:15hrs on Christmas Eve the business’ delivery man, Amerdeen , who delivers water and other items using the bike , parked the motorcycle in the parking lot near a shop which the hotel also operates.

He said that the man handed over some documents which he collected while transacting business on behalf of the hotel shortly after parking the motorcycle. Sometime after, he said that the duo recognised that the motorcycle was missing.
On Tuesday morning, he said that the company decided to “run the camera” and to their astonishment, a man was seen removing the bike from the hotel’s premises. He said that the man walked into the shop at the hotel several items before removing the bike.

In a recording of the incident, which was posted on social media, the man, dressed in white top, dark jeans and carrying a haversack , can be seen pacing around two motorcycles which were parked in the hotel’s compound as traffic flowed on the road nearby.

The man attempted to touch one of the bikes but a car’s light truncated his attempt. However, after hesitating some more, the man pulled one of the two motorcycles and pushed the machine away with a helmet in his hand. The helmet was left on the bike’s handle by its owner.

According to reports from the area, the man may have travelled from the South Rupununi as persons tried desperately on Tuesday to determine the man’s identify.
Motorcycles are a major means of transportation in the Rupununi . Many persons would purchase motorcycles across the border at Boa Vista and ride around the Region Nine area after receiving clearance from the authorities.

However, over the years there have been several instances of motorcycle theft in Brazil. Persons would steal motorcycles in the neighbouring country and ferry them over the border.