Security guard abducted in double robbery attempt

A Belize City security guard is recuperating at the K.H.M.H. tonight after being abducted, severely beaten and left tied up on the Western Highway in a stolen vehicle. According to police, forty-seven year old Esbart Ramclam, a security guard working at Caribbean Tobacco Company on Thursday night, and a company truck were reported missing from the compound when employees arrived at around 7:00 this morning. Two hours later, police found the Toyota at mile eight on the Western Highway and a bound and beaten Ramclam inside. He was rushed to the K.H.M.H. with multiple injuries to his body, including several broken ribs. Ramclam has managed to tell authorities that sometime during his shift two men armed with a shotgun approached him and told him if he co-operate, he would not get hurt. The men then went to one of the company vehicles, broke in, and stole the cash pan inside. Satisfied with their loot, the robbers then tied up Ramclam and left him in the back of the truck. But Ramclam’s ordeal was far from over. Not long after the first hold-up, four other men, also armed, walked onto the property and stole the same truck Ramclam was in. Police now believe the foursome was after the cash that had already been jacked earlier that night. The second set of thieves didn’t realise Ramclam was in the vehicle until they stopped at an undisclosed location to crack the lock on the strong box. Not amused at missing the money, the men took out their frustrations on Ramclam, clobbering him repeatedly with a length of two by four. Hospital officials tell News 5 Ramclam is listed as stable. Up to newstime tonight, none of his attackers have been detained.