…for five-hour long robbery at L. Seepersaud Stabroek Market stall

Owners of the popular jewellery store L. Seepersaud Maraj and Sons are appealing to persons with information on the burglarizing of their store to make contact with them, even as they expressed disappointment at the way the matter was handled by the Mayor and City Council.

In a statement the family business noted that around 07:00hrs Tuesday someone from a neighbouring stall called to inform them that the stall in Stabroek Market where L. Seepersaud Maraj & Sons jewelry store is located was broken into. “It is true that the police recovered tools which included blow torches and other chemicals used. The vault had three doors and each door was cut with precision.

It is sufficient to say that the perpetrators of this crime aren’t novices, but highly skilled thieves. We would like to assure our customers that no one was hurt or harmed. Our losses cannot be estimated at this time as we have not done a full check of inventory,” the store said in the statement.

They noted that they have consulted with several security specialists and others trained in ironwork and welding, and “have been informed that it would have taken no less than five hours for the vaults to be cut open. We have spoken directly to two city Constables who claimed that checks were done earlier in the market but nothing was discovered. As stall owners operating under market rules, we have no choice but to depend on the City Constabulary for security whenever the market is closed.

At the time of writing this, we have not been contacted by anyone from the Mayor and City Council’s Office or the Town Clerk’s Office. We are surprised at the lack of care and diligence by the City Constabulary in not observing that such an elaborate crime was being perpetuated over so many hours.”

The storeowners said too that the stall was secured with an alarm system that was being monitored by the MMC Security Force. “We contacted the MMC Security Force late this afternoon (Tuesday) and we were informed that the alarm was indeed set off three times last night. However MMC never informed us or the police that the alarms went off.

On every other occasion, whenever the alarm is set off, MMC would call us immediately and the fact that we never received any calls or reports from them is puzzling,” the store said.
The store acknowledged that the Guyana Police Force Criminal Investigation Department has been conducting investigations since this morning “and we hope that they are fervent and steadfast in their efforts to find these thieves.

We, the sons of L. Seepersaud Maraj have been taught by our father that the cornerstone of our business is the personal relationship we enjoy with our customers, who we regard as our extended family. We are now appealing to you, to contact us or the police if you have any information regarding this robbery and keep us in your prayers.”