Toledo Credit Union robbed by skilled criminals

Leopoldo Romero

In Punta Gorda, police and B.D.F. officers are the main suspects in the robbery of a credit union. The Toledo Teachers Credit Union Limited Branch Office in Bella Vista was robbed this morning around eight-forty five when it had just opened for business. Four armed men stormed the building, disarmed the security guard and proceeded to rob the vault, employees and credit union members. Police quickly recovered part of the loot and arrested the law enforcement officers. Leopoldo Romero, General Manager of the Toledo Teachers Credit Union, headquarters tells News Five that the robbery has no makings of an inside job but more of the work of security trained personnel.

Leopoldo Romero, General Manager, TTCU Ltd. Headquarters, Punta Gorda

“The branch opened as normal on a Monday morning; a line of people were awaiting the service and there was a young fellow on the line who didn’t step into the building as the line came in and then he proceeded to to disarm the security guard who had a struggle and then at the same time, three other fellows, heavily armed with machine guns and so on came in and hit the security guard and removed his equipment and then proceeded into the office where they robbed the members and the employees as well. We have a strong security door but they break it down and then two went to the back side of the building where they hands up the employees and went into the vault; took out all money, took their cellular phones and wallets and disappeared with it.”

Andrea Polanco

“Okay. Approximately how much are we talking about here in terms of the cash?”

Leopoldo Romero

“Umm, it should be above thirty thousand, which is a lesser amount than we normally keep at the head office and which we insure nuh. I want to make it clear to the members of the branch office that their money is safe; it is insured and police have recovered part of the money already and have detained some people.  So it was a quick police response. One of the errors the robbers did was not to take the set phone from the office and so they were called immediately.”

Andrea Polanco

“Mr. Romero is there anything that would suggest to you that these robbers had help from inside?”

Leopoldo Romero

“No, I think it was a well planned robbery; they would have spotted the area before and studied the movement of the security and the entire operations and they are experienced and plain people I can say; it appears that they worked with security forces because of the way they tear through the door and maneuver and talk to the employees definitely sounded like people from sound kind of training.”

Andrea Polanco

“With respect to the monies recovered; is it from the same three people that the police detained?”

Leopoldo Romero, General Manager, TTCU Ltd Headquarters, Punta Gorda

“That’s right; they were arrested because of the bag of money that they were carrying in a taxi heading back to the city and so the money that was counted with the cash pan from the credit union was easily identified nuh and it has been counted and I must say that the police acted quickly and have been quite efficient in handling the case.”

Romero said that information would suggest that the men are from the Independence Area.  The security guard on duty was the only person injured when he was hit with one of the robbers’ guns. The General Manager says the branch office is expected to be closed over the next two days.

In a separate robbery in the city, on Friday evening twenty eight year old Dorian Usher told police that he was robbed at gun point of four thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars worth of jewelry and cash. Police have since recovered some of the jewelry and detained twenty one year old Ryan Alvarez and twenty five year old Darrington Lauriano, both of Belize City.