Dancehall artiste Kiprich is upset that he was burglarised during his stay at an Airbnb apartment at the Portmore Country Club II in St Catherine on Saturday morning, during which he was robbed of US$39,000 or nearly J$6 million worth of jewellery and currency in the amount of US$13,000 (J$2 million).

Kiprich reported the robbery the same day at the Divisionional Headquarters of the St. Catherine South Division, which is popularly known as the ‘Hundred Man’ police station.

The Telephone Ting artiste is presently on the island working on a project with a fellow artiste and decided to rent an Airbnb unit in the Portmore Country Club II community.

“So I was there holding a vibes with Piranha (a fellow entertainer), food ah cook and ting and we de de a hold a vibes. My phone was dying, so I went over to my place where I was staying to get a charger, but when mi go round there, the door open,” he said.

Immediately, the entertainer put his guard up.

“Mi wonder same time how the door open? Yu done know, my vigilance kicked in at the same time because I never left it open, and when mi step in, mi things dem tun over,” he told Observer Online.

Kiprich immediately went to the security guards and made a report that he had been robbed. They made an alarm and discovered that the miscreants had gained entry to the apartment by forcing open a kitchen window.

“Eventually one of the security guards had said that they saw a man come to the front and when they asked what he was going there, he admitted that he had ‘jumped the fence and was trying to find his way out’. They never held him but he had my Gucci belt in his hand, and was playing with it, so as not to seem suspicious or anything like ah fi him belt,” Kiprich said.

Kiprich, whose real name is Marlon Plunkett, said the lax security arrangements at the facility allowed the man to escape.

“De security never press the panic button, dem not even search him, the man even had on my Burberry glasses on his shirt…the same one I wore in my Woman Protest video,” he said.

This is the second time that the artiste, who celebrated his 44th birthday on March 2, has been robbed in the last eight years.

On the previous occasion, the artiste’s helper made off with a jewellery chest loaded with fancy baubles, chains and rings worth almost J$7 million. That was in December 2014.

“At that time, the helper took a Presidential Rolex (watch) that was in the chest, and mi buy back another one. Now mi lose mi two-tone Rolex, it gone again, ah US$25,000 for it,” he lamented.

Born in Linstead, St Catherine, Kiprich was raised in Waterhouse, St Andrew. He attended Ardenne High, and began to visit studios while he was still a student. He got his big break in 1999 with his hit Leggo Di Bwoy, a collaboration with Chino. In 2003, he wrote the lyrics for Elephant Man’s Jook Gal, whose remix with hip hop mega-star Twista entered the Billboard charts that same year.

He is known for the songs The Letter, Telephone Ting, Mad Sick Head Nuh Good with Predator). He scored a hit last year with Gallis Astrology with D’yani which racked up over one million views on Youtube. One of his latest singles is Woman Protest on the Green Dot riddim.

Kiprich said he had planned to shoot four music videos while he was on the island for his latest singles including Assurance, Signs and Mad Already featuring long-time collaborator Preditor.

“This robbery come in like the lyrics in Signs, this ah something mi never expect,” he said.

The Portmore police have reportedly recovered footage of the man who allegedly committed the robbery.