Robbers hit Whitehouse credit union

WESTERN BUREAU:

For the second time in less than seven months, armed robbers posing as customers carried out a daring daylight multimillion-dollar robbery at a financial institution in the community of Whitehouse, in Westmoreland.

The latest incident took place approximately 12:30 Tuesday afternoon at the Community and Workers of Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union located along Main Street in the fishing community.

Reports by the police are that six men entered the credit union, held up the security guard at gunpoint, and stole an estimated J$5 million in cash. They escaped in two motor cars.

Superintendent Robert Gordon, commanding officer for Westmoreland, said on Tuesday that the police are on the trail of the gunmen and are hoping to make an early arrest.

“No one was hurt, but the robbers made off with the guard’s firearm, and the complete surveillance apparatus, in that they would have taken the VCR set-up from the institution, which makes it harder to identify and track them,” Gordon told The Gleaner.

The Westmoreland police commander said that robbers were venturing into small communities and targeting financial institutions and other businesses that have a high cash turnover.

While urging the credit union to beef up security operations, Gordon cautioned other financial entities to be on the lookout for thieves posing as customers. He also advised business owners to position their security cameras and servers in hard-to-reach areas.

In late July 2020, gunmen pulled off a daylight robbery at the JN Bank in Whitehouse and made off with several million dollars.

Earlier this year, armed men posing as customers also went to the Courts Ready Cash Finance outlet in Negril, Westmoreland, and robbed tellers of an undetermined sum.