South family robbed of $.5M

Police sources said the bandits broke into the home of accountant Anand Heereman at Pasture View Road, Palmiste and lay in wait for nearly six hours inside the premises until he awoke and opened a door leading to the downstairs part of the house.

For nearly 45 minutes, they ransacked the house while demanding the family’s valuables and cash. The bandits confronted Heereman, his wife Suzanne, their two young children and Nadia Lochan — a family friend. Using bedsheets, they tied Heereman, his wife and Lochan.

Heereman, an employee at Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited, told Newsday that around 6 am he opened a door leading to the downstairs area of his two-storey house and was confronted by the bandits who were armed with a cutlass and gun, respectively.

“I believe they were waiting downstairs since around 1 am, when we heard a noise in the backyard,” Heereman said. “They told me I would be safe if I co-operate with them and they pushed me up the stairs.”

Heereman said the bandits gained entry into his newly-constructed house by prising open a window. A paint bucket, a car jack and a hammer were found at the scene. The accountant said the bandits pushed him into a bedroom where wife Suzanne was lying with their daughters — aged seven and two.

Mrs Heereman said the bandits started to make threats and curse as they held the cutlass to her husband’s neck. “They were very persistent with us being quiet. They threatened to cut off the children’s heads if we made any noise,” she said.

Lochan, who overnighted at the house, was brought into the bedroom by the bandits. Heereman was made to kneel on the ground. The bandits then tied them up while the two bandits searched for valuables.

Heereman said the bandits grabbed thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, $5,000 in cash and other items. They also snatched the keys to Heereman’s $275,000 Nissan X-Trail SUV, into which they packed up their loot. They then drove away.

The Palmiste area has been plagued by a series of break-ins by bandits. Yesterday’s incident took place a few streets away from the home of magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan. The magistrate, her husband and their son were confronted by two bandits.