Police and civilians staged a massive manhunt in the cane-fields for two bandits who robbed Vickram's Jewellery at Chapel Street, New Amsterdam on Monday of about $2.4M in gold and silver ornaments and later that night another jeweller was raided

The first robbery occurred at about 9:30 am and the bandits fled on two bicycles in the direction of the backdam. The hunt for them started around midday and ended about 3 pm.

Owner of the store, Vickram Mahadeo, 27, said he and his wife Sophie Rampersaud were in the store when they saw the two men coming from opposite directions and dismounting their bicycles which they left in front of the store. The bandits pulled the sliding door and entered the store.

But Mahadeo and his wife did not suspect anything was amiss because the men at first pretended to be interested in making purchases. One of the men then pulled a gun on his wife and the other pointed one at him and told him to "go round at the back."

The bandit took him to his adjoining workshop and bound his hands behind his back with scotch tape. While the other bandit was scooping up the jewellery into a bag, Rampersaud saw a friend, Keon Bryan entering. She tried to signal to him that bandits were in the store but he did not notice her and he headed towards the back of the building.

By that time the bandit who was tying up Mahadeo shouted to his accomplice that an "intruder" had entered. After Rampersaud realized that the bandits' attention was turned towards Bryan she took the opportunity to run. Bryan told Stabroek News yesterday that he, too, started to run. The bandits then grabbed the bags with the jewellery, most of which belonged to customers and fired one shot in the air as they fled on their bicycles. All they left behind were a few pieces of costume jewellery.

Mahadeo, who managed to free himself, gave chase on a bicycle, thinking he would have been able to recover the items that he "worked so hard for." He said the bandits "cursed me and fired shots in my direction but I did not give up. I continued to follow them."

He eventually gave up after the bandits abandoned the bicycles and fled towards the backdam. He said he had an opportunity to shoot back at them but he does not

have a firearm. He said he applied for one but was told that he is too young.

He is however pleased with the efforts of the police to capture the bandits even though they came up empty-handed.

In the second raid, bandits broke into Aaron and Son Jewellery Establishment at Main and Pope streets, New Amsterdam during Monday night and made off with over $1M in gold and silver jewellery.

Aaron Mohamed, 38, of Philadelphia Street, NA said that a woman who lives close to his store telephoned his mother around 9 am and told her that a window at the store was open. He said when he got there around 9:30 am he found that the window was broken and the grill had been wrenched opened. He also checked and discovered that most of his jewellery was gone.

He said he left his brother at the store and he immediately went to the New Amster-dam Central Police Station to make a report.

Mohamed said his business was insured but recently the company cancelled the insurance after it said that he did not have enough security for the building.

He said he reopened for business at that location seven months ago. He recalled that he had a bad experience with business in the past. His store was completely destroyed during the Pitt Street fire in 2002 that razed several other businesses.