Violent Armed Robbery at Sulaibiya Chabra

And so it begins....

Kuwait Times, 27 April 2014

By Sajeev K Peter and Hanan Al-Saadoun 

(Left) The body of a security guard lies in a pool of blood after he was killed in an armed robbery in Sulaibiya late Friday. (Right) The charred car that is suspected to have been used by the assailants

KUWAIT: A three-member gang of armed robbers shot dead two Indian guards before escaping with KD 13,000 in cash Friday night near the Sulaibiya vegetable market. Later yesterday, police claimed they had identified the perpetrators and expected to arrest them “within hours”.

Sharangdharan, 55, who hailed from the Calicut district of Kerala, was shot in the chest and died on the spot, while Muhammad Rashid Jamalullali Thangal, 25, from the Malappuram district of Kerala, was shot in the head and succumbed to his injuries at Farwaniya Hospital. Both were working as security personnel with a leading private security company in Kuwait.

According to sources, the guards – tasked with depositing the day’s collection of a supermarket at the bank via ATM – were attacked by the assailants as they walked towards their security van with the cash chest. The gunmen, reportedly in black attire, fired at them at close range and escaped with the chest containing KD 13,000, leaving the victims in pools of blood. The crime took place around 10.30 pm on Friday.

The suspects did not attempt to break into the armored van that reportedly contained as much as KD 200,000 in cash, according to reports from the scene. The driver was in the van during the incident, but was unharmed. Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects fired 36 rounds from an AK-47 during the attack. A heavy security presence was reported at the scene following the crime. Sources also said that a car that was found ablaze on the Sixth Ring Road near Sulaibiya was discovered to be stolen and may have been the getaway car used by the assailants.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador Sunil Jain told Kuwait Times that the embassy is in touch with the Interior Ministry over the shocking incident. “We will do all what is required in coordination with the Kuwaiti authorities,” he said. Incidents of armed robberies and assaults have often been reported in Kuwait, although criminal acts involving armed gangs gunning down their victims for money are rare in the country.

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Seriously, we rarely see this type of crime in Kuwait.  No doubt they will find who did it immediately (Kuwait is so small and the detective work is actually very good here).  I hate to see this kind of thing happening here, but I had no doubt that it would start.  It is too easy and security procedures overall are lax regardless of the industry.  It is well known that even many police officers can't carry guns; forget private security.  I bet the security guards don't even get pepper spray.  Ridiculous.  Well, not that it would do any good against a loaded AK-47.

What is really sad is that I bet the guards would have just handed over the money.  My condolences to their families and may God rest their souls.