It was like a scene from a George Clooney movie, with a gang of thieves staging a robbery of a casino cage. But this was real and it was at at Atlantis Resort & Casino on Paradise Island.
The story in the local media is that three men are in police custody after they tried to rob a cashier’s cage at the casino. The incident ocurred mid-day on Sunday, 23rd September, 2012.
The men, all Bahamians, aged 24, 30 and 31 years, allegedly entered the cashiers’ cage after flooding an employee-only area with pepper spray.
The newspapers report that the three men were not armed and were immediately caught due to the “quick response by security officers of Atlantis”. It is also being reported that following the arrests, police conducted a search and discovered a bag in the ceiling that contained an “undisclosed amount of cash”. Tourists were also ordered to leave the casino immediately after.
Hotel executives said 16 employees were taken to hospital from exposure to the pepper spray.
But earlier reports indicate that the men were armed. It should also be noted that after the “foiled” robbery, the casino was put into lockdown mode and the Paradise Island Bridge was closed down, with all cars exiting the island being checked by police. Strange behaviour indeed if the robbery was foiled during execution.
Casino operators and Bahamian government officials are apparently loathe to tell the whole truth about the matter as it may negatively affect tourism by scaring tourists away from what is supposed to be a safe family environment. And owners of Atlantis of not want to admit they have millions in cash behind the scenes at the popular resort. They certainly do not want to admit that robbers were able to get away with oodles of cash.
Hotel management has publicly stated that the robbery was “ill-advised” considering the sophistication of the security systems and teams.
Reports vary, with one newspaper saying the men were former employees of the resort and another saying that at least two of the men were current employees.
George Markantonis, president and managing director of Kerzner International (Bahamas) initially told reporters that “nothing has been taken from the hotel”. But Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson said it was too early in the investigation to speak to specifics.
Ferguson also admitted that no money was found on the suspects and it hasn’t been made entirely clear exactly how the men three men were apprehended.
One report suggests thjat the three were caught, after being abandonded by their cohorts, who fled when the casino cage was locked down as the crime began to unfold.
So, on one hand we have a report that everything is hunky-dory and that the three isolated robbers were caught before they got out the door. And on the other hand, there are rumours that there were 10 thieves, including several Jamaicans, and some of them escaped with a huge amount of cash.
