An armed break-in by burglars in which approximately BZ$30,000 cash was robbed at a Puma gas station on the Philip Goldson Highway in Belize City in the early morning. Police reportedly reached the scene of the incident and found security guard Marco Ortiz.
Ortiz informed the police that at around 2:45 a.m. while he was sitting in front of the station, he was approached by six men from the eastern side of the building, reportedly carrying firearms.
Ortiz stated, the robbers held and took him to the back of the building, where he was snatched of his mobile phone and wallet, one of the suspects allegedly remained with the security guard during the entire incident, meanwhile rest of the robbers made their way heading to the main face of the gas station.
The suspects forcibly made their way to the station’s office through a door, reaching inside they allegedly broke the safe and carried away BZ$30,000. The cash had been kept in the safe as a result of the station being unable to accomplish its daily cash deposit the prior day.
A Heritage Bank ATM, situated at the gas station was also reported to sustain damage amid the offence. However, police denied the violation of the machine, leading to neglecting any possibilities of money being robbed from the machine during an initial investigation.
During an investigation the team found security footage from the surveillance room. CCTV footage reportedly recorded a black SUV nearby the location during the incident. The finding indicates a suspicion about the vehicle being involved in the incident, although the available information does not verify its involvement, which is subject to the further investigation.
No persons of interest were officially recognised in relation to the incident as per the early investigation. Ongoing police probe is reviewing security footages and other gathered evidence from the crime scene.
