Bell Boulevard push in robber busted

According to a police source, one of a pair of armed robbers, who was apprehended two days after a home invasion on Bell Boulevard, was known to a family member of the victims.
Ashik Latiff, 34, of 100-05 92nd Avenue in Richmond Hill, was charged with armed robbery, burglary and grand larceny following the Wednesday, June 6 push-in robbery in which he and an unnamed accomplice allegedly made off with a lockbox and $7,000 in cash. Latiff, who was released on $100,000 bail, faces 25 years in prison if convicted.
As reported in The Queens Courier, two men approached the house at 80-38 Bell Boulevard about 6:30 p.m., posing as package deliverymen.
According to the criminal complaint, when Uzma Toppa, 17, answered the door, the men pushed her inside, brandishing what appeared to be a firearm. Then, she and a visitor, Kanwal Anand, 68 were forced into a bedroom and their wrists tied, before the men made off with their loot.
The complaint further alleges that Latiff demanded to know, “Where is the money” before taking the gun from his accomplice, who then searched the house.
Latiff was arrested by detectives from the 111th Squad on Friday, June 8. They are continuing their investigation.
“The suspect was known to one of the family members,” Lieutenant Dan Heffernan of the 111th Precinct told The Queens Courier, “We want the community to know that this was an isolated incident.”
Heffernan assured residents that despite news reports which have raised community concerns that the precinct was undermanned, “Borough sends us help when we need help.” He explained that an early and erroneous lead in this case, concerning two men in a green van, was debunked almost immediately by just such a unit.
“I don’t want to tip our hand to the bad guys, but if we think we have to flood an area, we will,” Heffernan confided, “we had an unmarked unit in the area that day.”