Employees arrested for setting up robbery of two separate businesses
ARRESTED: From L-R Joshua King, Devon Bailey, Marti Bethel and Azumah Small
Police Detectives at Brickdam conducted two separate intelligence-led operations on Thursday and Friday which resulted in the arrest and detention of several persons. In one instance, employees were arrested along with others for planning a robbery of their employer while on Friday, men were arrested for actually staging a robbery of the company for which they work.
On Thursday afternoon the police with the assistance of a businessman swooped down at a location in Campbellville where they arrested 23-year-old Joshua King of 34 South Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara for the offence of attempt to commit a felony, that is to say, he was planning the robbery of the businessman.
The police searched King and discovered that he had in his possession a knife and axe. He was again told of another offence and decided to cooperate with the police leading them to another location where other players of the intended robbery were present.
At John Smith Street Campbellville, Azuma Small was confronted and a search was conducted on the motorcycle which he had in his possession at the time, his home was also searched and the police removed a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis sativa. Two iPhones which were also in possession were confiscated as the detectives suspect them to have been illegally obtained.
Martin Bethel and Devon Bailey present in the vicinity at time were also arrested as it was suspected by the detectives that they too were part of the plot. It turned out that while at the Brickdam Police Station, King provided the detective with a written statement under caution that indeed the Bethel and Bailey were part of the plot and implicated one Oziel Small known as ‘Bounga’ and Vickey Brown also known as ‘Skello’ were the masterminds of the plot. Both Brown and Small are employees of the businessman.
MEANWHILE
On Friday afternoon, Kevin Isles, a 26-year-old driver/ salesman of 85 Block ‘Y’ Grove, East Bank Demerara reported that he was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash by two men who he could identify and who were wearing masks. He claimed the robbery took place at the Stabroek Market Square.
A team of police visited the location and conducted a search and based on what Isles stated, the police questioned persons in the area for information and nothing useful was obtained, A decision was made to run several CCTV camera footage from the area but still, nothing to support the story of Isles was obtained. He was also showed the footage the police reviewed and realising that his lies had caught up with him, he admitted to staging the robbery.
It turned out that at the time of the fake robbery, Isles was accompanied to the location by 41-year-old sales assistant Orin Thomas of pf Little Diamond Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara and 20-year-old Anthony Kannan of Old Road La Grange, West Bank Demerara.
Detectives were able to ascertain that Isles contacted two friends of his whose names were provided as Jermain Anthony Williams, 32 years old of Section ‘C’ Enterprise East Coast Demerara and Trevon Jeffrey 22 years of Lot 128 Meadow Brook. Williams work at the same company as Isles while Jeffery works at Banks DIH as a Sales Assistant.
Jeffery’s job was to show up and collect the day’s sale from Isles and leave with it and after everyone gets off of work they were to link up and split the money.
However later in the afternoon, the police based on information received, saw Jeffery standing next to a bus shed on Regent street and carried out a search on him. The money was found in a bag which he was carried at the time and he was asked to explain how he came by more than five hundred thousand dollars in his possession.
Jeffery let the cat out of the bag and admitted that he was part of the staged robbery at the Stabroek Market Square and that he was given instructions by Isles to meet him later along with Williams to split the money.
All three of them were placed into police custody and are expected to appear in Court.
