Shot E’quibo speedboat operator and family remain traumatised after home invasion
-say Aurora station was padlocked when relatives visited to report attack
Days after he was shot during a home invasion at Spring Garden, in Region Two, speedboat operator Mohamed Gafoor and his family are still in distress and do not believe that the police are doing all that they can to apprehend the perpetrator.
Gafoor was shot in his left arm in the early hours of October 25 by a lone assailant, who made off with with an estimated $1.5 million in cash and jewellery.
He told this newspaper that while he has given leads to the police, the suspect, who lives at Supenaam and on the West Coast of Demerara, is still walking free. As a result, Gafoor and his family are frustrated and they called on Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn to launch an investigation into the matter.
When contacted, the Commander of the division said the police are still investigating the robbery.
The attack began as Gafoor was making his way into to his home around 12.30 hrs. It was then that he was approached by his assailant, who was armed with a gun. He said that he recognised the man as an exworker. The father of three said that they had a scuffle when the man ordered him to take him upstairs as he demanded money.
Gafoor complied and when they got upstairs the gunman put him in a prone position and requested money and valuables. Gafoor said his son gave the suspect $700,000 in cash but the man was not satisfied and demanded more.
“My son gave him the money. He then kept asking where is the money [that] Rasta gave me. I told him that’s all I had so he went with all the jewellery. My son then told him that’s all the money and then he told him to shut his mouth before he shoot him,” the father related.
The traumatised man said that the gunman also threatened to shoot his daughter.
After the gunman exited the bedroom, Gafoor slammed the door shut and in reply the gunman then fired a shot that passed through the door and hit Gafoor’s left arm.
Meanwhile, one of Gafoor’s two daughters locked herself in the washroom during the attack. She, however, called a relative and informed her about the robbery. The relative and others immediately went to the Aurora Police Station to make a report but the gates were padlocked. It was around 1 am that morning. They said they then shouted out for the police in front of the gate several times but they got no answer.
Gafoor said he called his father immediately after the gunman left and he came and took him to the Suddie Public Hospital, where he was subsequently admitted. Gafoor was discharged on Wednesday. He said he is currently in immense pain from the gunshot wound.
Gafoor claimed that it was the second the time he was robbed by his assailant. In 2009, he said, he was robbed in the Essequibo River and his boat and engine were burnt. The case was, however dismissed after the magistrate presiding over the trial concluded that there were insufficient evidence.