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Gunmen invade UB ITVET compound posing as students

GeneralGunmen invade UB ITVET compound posing as students
One day after the finance officer of the YWCA on St. Thomas Street in Belize City was robbed at gunpoint by a lone gunman who got away with around $3,000 in cash and checks, three students of the University of Belize engineering department were also robbed at gunpoint around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, while they were in class in the UB building on the ITVET compound on Freetown Road.
  
The three thieves stole computers, cell phones and an i-pod, jewelry and cash to a value of around $7,000, then escaped in a getaway vehicle that was waiting near the Freetown Road Gas Station.
  
The three students who were robbed – Nirmal Madhu Babani, 20, who resides on Albert Street in Belize City; Wen Cheng, 20, a student who lives at Mile 25 on the Western Highway; and Hilmer Arias, 20, a student of Valley of Peace village, Cayo District — told police that around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, they were at the Faculty of Science and Engineering when three men entered the classroom. One of them was armed with a silver firearm, and he ordered that nobody move. 
  
The thieves then stole from Babani a black HP DV6 laptop computer. He then searched him and stole a black Nokia cellular phone that was in the right pocket of his pants. The thief also took his silver chain with a stone medal valued at $240, and a silver bracelet with the name “Niria” on it.
  
The thieves robbed Cheng of a black and silver striped 720 GB Asus laptop, a purple 8 GB Apple I Touch, a silver chain with an eagle-design medal, a black bag containing one 16-GB USB and $8 in cash.
  
They robbed Arias of a black-and-silver Dell laptop computer, an LG cellular phone, one 16-GB USB flash drive, and a Samsonite brand school bag, all to a total value of $6,723.
  
Police were called, and they searched for the thieves in the area, but they had already escaped. The students were taken to the Queen Street Police Station, where they gave a statement. They were shaken up by the experience and are now receiving counseling from the UB counselor. 
           
A teacher at UB’s engineering division told the Amandala that three men posing as students, who were also carrying backpacks that were purported to be school bags, entered the compound from the back gate, the one nearest the Freetown Road Gas Station, and went into the UB building, where three students were doing projects and research using their laptop computers.
  
One of the robbers told the students to hand over the computers, but the students refused. One of the students said that he had just gotten his computer and that he was not giving it away.
  
One of the robbers then took out a gun from out of his bag and aimed it at the students, and ordered them to hand over their computers. The students became fearful and complied. The three robbers each took a computer and put it into their bags, then they robbed the students of their cell phones, and an i-pod player.
  
The thieves then told the students to keep quiet and not to make a sound, threatening that if they raised any alarm they would come back. After that, the thieves exited the classroom, bidding the security officer the time of day as they passed her.
  
They then went through the gate and went to the Freetown Road Gas Station, got into a car that was waiting for them, and drove away. Shortly after, the students raised the alarm, called the police, and the whole school was alerted.
  
A security officer told Amandala that a female officer had just been posted to the booth and was new on the job, and did not know the students. The thieves bid her the time of day when they came onto the compound, and again when they were exiting the compound, escaping with their loot.
  
Jeffrey Jones, a lecturer in UB’s engineering department, told Amandala that this was the first time that robbers have actually come into a classroom on the school compound and robbed students. However, the thieves were not wearing masks; they looked like regular students attending UB. He said that there are four security officers and two gates — the UB back gate and the ITVET front gate. The student identification system must be enforced, he said, and the security officers’ presence will be also be more visible on the compound; also, the manner in which the security officers carry out their duties will be improved.
  
A security officer explained to Amandala that enforcement and implementation of the rules must be carried out, but there are no incentives, because the pay is insufficient. The officer also said that enforcement of the ID tag system will be challenging, because the students do not cooperate. 

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