With assets of almost almost 700 million dollars, the Holy Redeemer Credit Union is the apple of its member owners' eyes. But, it also caught the eyes of some daring criminals who smashed into the Credit Union Headquarters before dawn on the Monday morning holiday. The would-be burglars broke through HRCU's brick walls to try - haplessly - to get at some of that dough - which, we might add, isn't exactly left lying around.
It's a somewhat sophisticated heist that has the police and HRCU's security team on high alert tonight and perhaps into the future.
Tonight Cherisse Halsall takes a look at what really happened at HRCU and what's being done to make sure it never happens again.
This was Holy Redeemer Credit Union this morning, it looked like business as usual with customers coming and going and security guards at the ready to counter threats of a criminal and even viral nature.
But the calm exterior betrays nothing of the audacious attempted burglary at this robust and revered institution early on Monday morning.
It happened at around 4:30 AM when thieves tunneled through the concrete wall - leaving a gaping hole that alarmed both the public and HRCU's member-owners.
And while that's how a pair of thieves got in - they had to dash out quickly when the alarm sounded:
Clement Usher, Chief Financial Officer, HRCU
"The security called to say that the alarm had gone off and I came down and when we opened up the office we found that they did penetrate the walls of the building in the back of the building but they were inside probably for less than 10 or 15 seconds because of course the alarm went off and so the footage shows them scampering to go back through the whole that they came in."
Cherisse Halsall:
"They spent time making a hole in your wall?"
Clement Usher, Chief Financial Officer, HRCU
"Yes, but it was not using a drill or a jackhammer that makes noise. They used a regular jack and just pumped and pumped and pumped until it broke the wall open, so that's how they were able to get in."
But even before that, they were able to get it by propping this piece of zinc up against the Credit Union's cement fence and scaling the wall to get into the compound. After that they broke through the wall using the jack as a tool - not exactly Mission Impossible, but it does suggest some level of criminal sophistication.
Reliable reports are that the burglars had scoped out the area - we saw cut cables on the ground - and even poisoned two dogs in a nearby yard.
One of the dogs, the female is said to have been a good watchdog who barked loudly when anything was wrong. That may have been her undoing. The burglars reportedly poisoned her with a slice of bread dipped in chicken gravy and Clorox.
And despite all the effort put into this crime it was ultimately unsuccessful.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now, the good news, nothing was stolen correct?"
Clement Usher, Chief Financial Officer
"Nothing was stolen ransacked no money over the place like it was reported on social media everything is intact. Your money is safe at HRCU as the press release said."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now, a warning to these thieves, if somebody thinks ok well it was done once that means we can try it again, what would you do, how would you caution them?"
Clement Usher, Chief Financial Officer
"Well, we will put in additional cameras and security because the security company did their job. The alarm did not reach the company but the security that was on hand called and they came over and they made the report."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, there are elements of this crime that leads you to think these criminals are becoming more sophisticated."
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer at Government of Belize
"From the hole in the wall we would want to say that these criminals are either educating themselves by watching all these CSI programs and so forth. Or they just watch a lot of Netflix movies. But, I am certain that our detectives are prepared for these types of crimes and its one of the first of this nature, so we don't want to leave anything at all, any room for discrepancy."
"A crime of that nature, people would want to go and boast and we are hoping that they would. That way we could close in on them."
And how does Belize's largest Credit Union rebound from this shocking event? In the same way, they do everything else, steadily and incrementally.
Clement Usher, Chief Financial Officer
"We are having meetings to check our security plan, and we want to make sure. That everything is intact that if it ever happens again God forbid hopefully it doesn't but if. If they ever try again they won't be successful they will never get into the vault and those places are so secure. Yes, they can get in and steal computers or ransack the place and make it difficult for us but luckily that did not happen and we are open for business today."
Usher also told us that while the walls of the building are brick the vaults are extremely secure so as he said: quote "no one is getting in there."
Police added that the would be burglars wore what they describe as Haz-Mat or "hazardous materials" suits.
