The Princess Hotel and Casino was robbed this morning by a lone gunman pulled off a mid-morning armed robbery. The dark skinned male causally strode into the lobby of Belize's largest hotel with a rifle and exited minutes later with a money bag with $33,000, the proceeds of weekend receipts from the cinema, the dining room, and the hotel. How did it happen...again? That's what Keith Swift tried to find out today.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The robber, who was armed with a rifle and wore a mask, stormed into the Princess Hotel lobby through this back door. The gunman intercepted staff who were transporting a money bag with $33,000. The gunman placed his shotgun to the neck of the Hotel's Purchasing Manager Andrew Flowers.
Andrew Flowers, Purchasing Manager - Princess
"There is nothing else I could say the only thing I could tell you is it was properly planned and very well executed. That's all I can say."
Perfectly planned because witnesses say that the gunman with the moneybag, ran and jumped over that fence and into this parking lot where his getaway vehicle was waiting. The investigation is now in the hands of police and the hotel's general manager Victor Gomez would only say this:
Victor Gomez, Princess' General Manager
"So far we don't have any comment. We don't want to interfere with the police"
And as police investigate, they are considering the possibility that this morning's robber may have had the benefit of insider information.
Keith Swift,
Do you believe this was an inside job?
ASP Chester Williams, C.I.B. Commander
"I really do not want to speculate and also do not want to be hurried to judge anybody. It is something we are looking at, we're investigating. I will not jump to a conclusion this time and say that yes we believe it's a inside job or no. We're looking at it objectively and we'll see what will be the outcome of the investigation.
Surveillance cameras is very important, especially for a place like Princess because if it is organized from within, persons there will know that security cameras are in place and that in itself is a deterrent to crime."
$80,000 was robbed from the Princess on July 25th of 2005. In similar fashion two men walked into the accounting office and walked out with the money. Arrests were made but it didn't include any employee.
