By L.K. Hewlett
St. Kitts Reporter
Police are investigating a brazen robbery at the Frigate Bay Beach Resort after five masked men held up a front desk employee at the hotel late Sunday evening.
An employee at the establishment recounted the event to The Observer, saying it was a blessing that the female employee had not been shot by the gun-toting bandits.
“Just after 10 pm five guys entered the reception office where the woman was working by herself. They had guns and a knife and demanded she give them all the money in the cash till. She was so scared she told us, but she did the smart thing and gave up the money. They got over a thousand dollars,” the employee said.
The person said that the men wore masks, veiling their faces from identification. According to the person, after the robbers took off, the young woman immediately ran to another section of the hotel and alerted other staff members to the robbery.
“The men who did it obviously had the place well scope out because they did it before the shift changed at 11 pm and that’s when the security comes on. They had to know how things run to know when to hit because other staff were at work the same time, just not close top the front desk,” the person said.
The Observer attempted to reach Sam Ng’alla, the hotel manager, but was told that he was off island on vacation.
Some past employees said that it was no surprise that the hotel had been robbed, since it had no fencing and was surrounded by tall shrubbery, perfect for sinister surveillance. They said the fact that it was located off the road also left it open to that sort of mishap as crooks could make their entrance and escape without being detected by persons living nearby.
There was also an unconfirmed report that the Sugar Bay Club experienced some break-ins on Monday night.
The Observer spoke a top official at the Criminal Investigation Department who said that he had no knowledge of any such reports about Sugar Bay. Without releasing any details of the crime, he said that no suspects had been taken into custody for the robbery and that investigations are ongoing.
