31 maart 2005
Agricola slaying may be linked to mystery aircraft
INVESTIGATORS were yesterday checking leads that the horrific Tuesday night slaying of three persons at Agricola on the East Bank Demerara may be linked to the mystery aircraft found on a remote Guyana airstrip two Saturdays ago.
BEHEADED: David Caesar
They left behind three dead, including the son of former national boxer Caesar Barrow, David Barrow, also called `Gurple’, and his 17-year-old girlfriend Shamika Boyce, known as `Girlie’. Another man identified as `Yankee’ was also shot dead in the murderous raid.
Police yesterday said they found a quantity of cocaine and spent shells at the scene. Sources said investigators were probing links that the execution was triggered by an apparent botched cocaine drop which led to the abandonment of a small single-engine Cessna 206 aircraft at the Kwapau airstrip in the Mazaruni two Saturdays ago.
ESCAPE ROUTE: the gap in the fence the killers used to make good their escape.Accounts from witnesses yesterday indicated that the heavily-armed gang that descended on Agricola Tuesday night was on a seek and destroy mission.
The three were executed by gunmen at Caesar's Second Street, Agricola home which he shared with the teen. It was not immediately clear what `Yankee’ was doing there and why he was shot.
A cousin of one of the deceased said she was sitting on the bridge in front of Caesar's yard with some friends around 23:00 h when three hooded men armed with guns and a cutlass came up and demanded that they remain quiet.
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| THE window and curtain destroyed by gunfire. | A TV set shattered by gunshots in the house. |
"'Y'all shut y'all mouth and don't move'," one of the men barked, she related.
The still visibly shaken woman said they asked about a man who had just walked into the yard and one of them ran behind him and ordered him too to join the growing group. She said she was looking at one of the men when he turned to her and asked, "Like you want to say something?"
MOURNING: David Caesar's mother and sons mourn his passing. From left are Shawn, Sherwin, Agnes and Quincy Barrow.
After the shooting, the one in command repeated the order to fire and again there was rapid gunfire.
The witness said that after the second wave of shots, the man asked his partners, "What happen deh?" to which the two replied "Eh Eh!" The man on the bridge then asked if he should come and again the men replied in the affirmative.
The man then told the captive group not to move and proceeded to the back of the yard where Caesar's house is located.
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| SLAIN teen Shamika Boyce's mother Sharon Boyce and her sons in grief. |
They shouted to residents to turn off their lights and remain in their houses, he said. He said one resident attempted to come outside and was asked by one of the men, "Where you going? Go back inside”.
A car which was coming into the street was shot at as one of the men told the driver to get away from the scene. No one knew what the gang was up to until silence descended after about half an hour, villagers said.
The men in Caesar's yard made good their escape through a gap in the zinc sheet fence aback of the victim's house which leads into Third Street, witnesses said.
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| THE bullet-riddled wall in Caesar’s house. |
Caesar was beheaded and his head which was some distance away from his body lay near Yankee's bullet-ridden corpse. Bullets were sprayed around the house and the screen of a TV was shattered.
David Caesar's mother, Agnes Barrow, said she does not know why anyone would have wanted to kill her son who she described as "a man of few words."
The Kaieteur News newspaper yesterday reported that the third victim was David Johnson, a well-known resident of the village. Johnson was, however, was up to press time last night, alive and well. A cousin of Boyce, known as Jeff, was shot dead by police in Buxton during the 2002 crime wave.
United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records show that the small aircraft found here was owned by and registered to CAVICO Aircraft Sales Incorporated in Florida. Local investigators have said they expect Interpol, the international police organisation, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) were following up on these leads.
The mystery aircraft is widely believed to have been used in a cocaine airdrop operation and sources said DEA agents checked the plane last week after it was flown under Army escort to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, where it is under tight security.
The FAA records the Chronicle was able to access indicate that the last known address of the Cessna 206 aircraft is CAVICO Aircraft Sales Incorporated of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The records also show that the aircraft was registered to the company. According to the FAA records, the original registration of the mystery aircraft found abandoned on the remote Kwapau, Mazaruni airstrip is N 3477Y. The model is U206G.
Investigators thought the single-engine aircraft was registered in Venezuela when it was discovered on the airstrip March 19. However, at a news conference last week, Police Commissioner Winston Felix said Guyana had asked Interpol to help it trace the aircraft.
He said local police have asked Interpol, the Venezuelan authorities and some liaison officers in Venezuela and other narcotic agencies operating around Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in the investigation. At that time, Felix reported that Interpol had advised that the “aircraft is not known to them”.
It is understood that the aircraft was registered in Florida and was never ‘de-registered’ from the U.S. The DEA is known to be closely watching narco-trafficking in Guyana which the U.S. Government has confirmed is a transshipment point for South American cocaine destined for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
The mystery aircraft has a specially modified drop door known to be fitted on aircraft cocaine rings use for drug drops. Meanwhile, police are still hunting two men – one of them a member of the Police Force – as investigations continue into the discovery of the mystery aircraft. Wanted bulletins were issued Thursday for Police Constable Ryan Gomes, 38, of 58 Welcome Street, Rosignol and Lindy Avenue, Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara; and Romel Clarke, also called Romel McKenzie and Romel Sinclair, of 106 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown.
Two other suspects held in the probe were last week put on an identification parade. (Guyana Cronicle)
30 maart 2005
Washington security specialists train Guyana cops
TWENTY-ONE members of the Guyana Police Force have completed a special training course run here by two security specialists from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC.
COURSE COMPLETED: Sergeant Troy Whittaker receives his certificate from Commissioner of Police Winston Felix.
The group, from several sections of the force, was coursed in `Basic Tactical First Responder Training’ which covered topics such as conducting traffic stops, use of force, stopping and frisking potential suspects, introduction to characteristics of a gunman, handcuffing and baton techniques, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism `first responder’.
Those on the course yesterday received certificates at a ceremony at the Felix Austin College in Georgetown.
The training was organised by the Guyana Police Force and Federal Management Systems (FMS) and was aimed at improving the quality of police service and productivity in various departments of the force. The course began March 21 and ended Saturday.
Police Commissioner Winston Felix, at yesterday’s ceremony, encouraged the course participants to immediately apply their training skills to the job. He said it is important to recognise that when frontline policemen/women go out unarmed, there is need to concentrate on their safety and this new training programme was introduced with this in mind.
He said that much emphasis had not been placed on the safety of police officers but this is changing. Running the course were security specialists Thomas Stephenson and Wayne Stevenson. They said they were satisfied with the excellent performance by the participants and encouraged them to train and practice to carry out their duty in protecting citizens.
FMS yesterday also handed over handcuffs, handcuff pouches and batons to the Police Force. (Guyana Cronicle)
Nightmare at sea
-- fishermen recall pirate attacks
SIXTEEN East Coast Demerara fishermen beaten and robbed by pirates who left them adrift in the Atlantic Ocean just more than a week ago, are back home after they were rescued by friendly Surinamese.
GLAD TO BE HOME: Captains of the Ronita 3 and Ronita 1, Rajendra Gordat and Tony are all smiles after returning from Suriname.
Four of them returned home Sunday and the others Monday from Suriname where they were taken by their rescuers.
The boats that were attacked at sea on March 21 were the Ronita 1, Ronita 3 and the Ramkumar, all belonging to the Kourmiahs of Annandale, East Coast Demerara, and another vessel owned by another villager.
The men said that around 19:00 h that day, they were in the four boats in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Corentyne coast, and were about to haul in their catch when a much larger boat pulled up alongside. Tony, the Captain of the Ronita 1, said that as he was about to inform the men on the strange boat that they could not anchor there, one of them fired a shot and they were all ordered to lie in their vessels. He recalled that before he obeyed, he noticed that there were six men, all wearing masks. "They tell we to lie down and don't look at their face", he recalled.
Tony said the ordeal lasted two hours, while the pirates stripped the boats of the engines, anchors, life jackets, catch, lights and fuel. He said the robbers also beat the crews with the flat sides of cutlasses as they lay helpless in the vessels.
Captain of the Ronita 3, Rajendra Gordat, also called 'Bunty', said he begged the pirates to leave at least one light as they prepared to leave with their booty. "I had to beg them to leave one light for us, so that we can play cards to pass the time", he told this newspaper. Gordat said this was his second encounter with pirates. The crews said that after the attack last week, they drifted towards the Suriname coast where they were rescued. They said they stayed most of the time in their boats because they were unable to communicate with the Surinamese who speak Dutch.
They were, however, able to phone the Kourmiahs, informing them of their plight and other boats with extra engines were sent to get them. On Friday night, police raided a house at No. 44 Village, Corentyne, and uncovered eight outboard engines, normally used on coastal fishing vessels. Police said the engines were at the Whim Police station in Berbice and Mrs Baby Kourmiah yesterday said they have identified two as theirs and are hoping to get them back soon.
She said although the fishermen were terrified by the ordeal, they are eager to return to work since they have families to maintain and bills to pay. (Guyana Cronicle)
Former Suriname rebel leader warns against new insurgency
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: If the 1992 Kourou peace agreement isn’t implemented in a satisfactory manner. disgruntled former rebels in Suriname could resume fighting against the government again, former rebel leader Ronny Brunswijk warned in an interview with the newspaper ‘de Ware Tijd’.
Talks with president Ronald Venetiaan last Wednesday were unsatisfactory to members of the former insurgent group Jungle Commando. Brunswijk was not present at that meeting.
The former rebels who in the late 80’s fought a fierce battle against former military ruler Desi Bouterse insist on the full implementation of the Kourou peace agreement signed in 1992. The president had invited a small delegate of the former Jungle Commando members to clear what he believes are some misinterpretations and misunderstanding of the peace settlement.
According to the former rebels it was agreed upon that fighters who met certain standards and qualifications would be incorporated in one of the legal armed forces in Suriname. Furthermore the government had agreed to provide free medical care, employment, housing and a monthly payment.
Few of these commitments have materialized, the former jungle fighters argue. In the meeting with president Venetiaan, the former insurgents were told that there was a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the implementation of the peace agreement. Therefore the president advised that at the next meeting former rebel leader Ronny Brunswijk should be present. The meeting was scheduled for yesterday (Tuesday).
Meanwhile Brunswijk in an interview warned against the danger of breakaway rebels who can take up arms again. At least the group which engaged in talks with the president without first seeking his advice is keeping level heads, said the former rebel leader.
According to Brunswijk implementation of the peace agreement is long overdue. Only sixty former rebels were incorporated in the Central Intelligence and Security Service (CIVD) while the other measures were not taken.
Officials of coalition party NPS believes that the fresh move of the former rebels to insist on implementation of the peace agreement is fueled by opposition parties. According to these officials the move is to create unrest which could disrupt the general elections due on May 25.
Brunswijk who is now chairman of a political party (ABOP), in an earlier stage calmed down fears of a new armed conflict. According to Brunswijk his party will seek to achieve certain goals through political and democratic means since other parties are unwilling to do that. (Ivan Cairo/Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
29 maart 2005
Mystery aircraft traced to Florida
DROP DOOR: the specially configured drop door on the right side of the mystery aircraft. Aviation sources said when this specially modified drop door is open it will drop whatever is in the hold of the aircraft. It is understood that this special drop door is usually built on planes cocaine rings use to make flyover drops.
THE small mystery aircraft found abandoned on the remote Kwapau, Mazaruni airstrip two Saturdays ago has been tracked to Florida in the United States, informed sources said yesterday.
The markings on the plane indicated a registration number, but police said a closer check showed masking tape was placed on the original ID altering it to read YV 0880P. When the tape was removed, the identification number turned out to be YV 2657P.Unconfirmed reports yesterday indicated that the Venezuelan authorities have finally responded to the Guyanese authorities disowning the aircraft and saying they have no record of it.
LANDING BASE: the remote Kwapau, Mazaruni airstrip where the mystery aircraft (bottom left) was found abandoned two Saturdays ago. The narrow strip at the top is the airstrip; the one at the bottom is the Puruni trail/road.
Aviation sources said the aircraft is fitted with a specially modified door which, when open, will drop whatever is in the hold. It is understood that this special drop door is usually built on planes cocaine rings use to make flyover drops. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been paying close attention to the mystery aircraft, sources said.
It was Thursday flown under Army escort to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri where local investigators and DEA agents were checking it. Up to yesterday afternoon, the aircraft remained under guard at the airport, sources said. The DEA is known to be closely watching narco-trafficking in Guyana which the U.S. Government has confirmed is a transshipment point for South American cocaine destined for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Last Wednesday, Police Commissioner Winston Felix said Guyana had asked the international police organisation Interpol to help it trace the aircraft. He told reporters that local police have asked Interpol, the Venezuelan authorities and some liaison officers in Venezuela and other narcotic agencies operating around Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in the investigation. Up to late yesterday, the police were still hunting for two men – one of them a member of the Police Force – as intensive investigations continued into the discovery of the mystery aircraft.
Wanted bulletins were issued Thursday for Police Constable Ryan Gomes, 38, of 58 Welcome Street, Rosignol and Lindy Avenue, Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara; and Romel Clarke, also called Romel McKenzie and Romel Sinclair, of 106 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown. Two other suspects held in the probe were last week put on an identification parade.
Aviation sources also indicated that although the aircraft is in reasonably good condition, it may have been abandoned due to “some technical problems” the pilot encountered. When the aircraft was tested by local engineers and a pilot, it was found that the “engine was a bit rough”, a source said. The battery had also been run down. The sources said the aircraft was thoroughly checked and the battery ‘jump started’ by a battery a team took up to the airstrip.
The Chronicle understands that the aircraft was found with the controls at “full power setting”, which aviation sources said was strange. Two fuel bills were found on the aircraft (dated in January) and sources said these were linked to the Ciudad Bolivar airport in Venezuela, in the border region with Guyana.
Investigators also found that the frequency of the radio on the aircraft was set for communication with Ciudad Bolivar airport. (Guyana Cronicle/Mark Ramotar)
Hunt on for cop 
POLICE yesterday said they were continuing the hunt for a member of the Police Force as investigations continued into the mystery aircraft found on an interior airstrip.
Police Commissioner Winston Felix
Police said Gomes is about 5’ 6” tall, dark and medium built. Clarke, about 36, is about 5’8” tall, dark and medium built, police said. Police said two other suspects held in the probe were Thursday put on an identification parade.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is paying close attention to the mystery small aircraft found two Saturdays ago on a remote Guyana airstrip, sources said. The single engine Venezuelan-registered Cessna aircraft was Thursday afternoon flown under Army escort to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, where local investigators and DEA agents were checking it, sources said.
Police yesterday said the aircraft remained under guard at the airport. The DEA is known to be closely watching narco-trafficking in Guyana which the U.S. Government has confirmed is a transhipment point for South American cocaine destined for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Police Commissioner Winston Felix on Wednesday said Guyana had asked the international police organisation Interpol to help it trace the aircraft discovered Saturday last on the Kwapau airstrip in the Mazaruni. He told reporters that local police have asked Interpol, the Venezuelan authorities and some liaison officers in Venezuela and other narcotic agencies operating around Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in the ongoing investigation.
The mystery aircraft was thoroughly checked and the battery, which was run down, had to be ‘jump-started’ by a battery a team took up to the airstrip, sources said. Aviation sources also said that the white Cessna 206 single engine aircraft with black and grey stripes and emblem suspected to be that of Venezuela on its tail, is in reasonably good condition.
Sources also told the Chronicle that two fuel bills were found on the aircraft (dated in January) and these were linked to the Ciudad Bolivar airport in Venezuela, in the border region with Guyana. Investigators also found that the frequency of the radio on the aircraft was set for communication with Ciudad Bolivar airport.
As speculation mounted that the modified aircraft was used in a drugs airdrop, a source said authorities here received a message from Venezuelan Air Traffic Control on Wednesday afternoon that an aircraft had been reported in distress. No other details were immediately available.
The source said the message from Venezuelan Air Traffic Control was received shortly after 14:00 h Wednesday.
24 maart 2005
Mystery aircraft:
Guyana seeks Interpol help
WE’VE GONE FAR AND WIDE’: Police Commissioner Winston Felix, right, with Deputy Commissioner Edward Wills, left, and Deputy Commissioner Henry Greene at yesterday’s briefing on the mystery aircraft. (Mike Norville photo)
GUYANA has asked the international police organisation Interpol to help it trace the mystery small aircraft discovered on a remote hinterland airstrip Saturday, Police Commissioner Winston Felix announced yesterday.
He told reporters that local police have asked Interpol, the Venezuelan authorities and some liaison officers in Venezuela and other narcotic agencies operating around Latin America and the Caribbean to assist in the ongoing investigation.
At a press conference at police headquarters in Georgetown, he reported that Interpol had advised that the “aircraft is not known to them.” According to the police, the aircraft is a white Cessna 206 single engine with black and grey stripes and an emblem suspected to be of Venezuela, on its tail. It was found abandoned on the Kwapau airstrip in the Mazaruni.
At first glance, there was a marking on various points of the aircraft indicating a registration number, but police said a closer check showed masking tape was placed on the original ID altering it to read YV 0880P. When the tape was removed, the identification number turned out to be YV 2657P, police said.
Police also found on the aircraft a hand-held communication radio, a mobile light, temperature gauge, two protractors and two automatic pumps, among other items. Two plastic containers with what looked like aviation fuel were also found outside the aircraft, police reported.
Three days later (on Tuesday), investigators found two other containers with a smaller quantity of what looked like fuel covered in the surrounding bushes. Cops also found a 4x4 Tacoma vehicle, licence plate GGG 4855, at the nearby Itabali Landing on the Mazaruni River. Police said they found ten 9mm rounds of ammunition under the driver’s seat, a V60 cellular phone and an assortment of documents. Felix said the investigations so far indicate that there was a connection between the aircraft and the Tacoma vehicle. He said, too, that the police are looking for the person who is alleged to be the current owner of the vehicle. He said that based on investigations, there was no official notification of the aircraft in Guyana’s airspace and the pilot and passengers on the plane were unknown.
He, however, reported that the police are following several leads and have several suspects. The commissioner said the V60 cellular phone found in the vehicle has provided the police with “some information” which is valuable to the investigations. Two men were in police custody up to last evening assisting with the investigations. Felix said they were detained by the police based on documents turning up during the investigation which show a connection or relationship with at least one of the two detained men.
Questioned about widespread speculation that the aircraft might have been involved in a ‘drugs drop’, he said “things are not always what they appear to be”. He, however, admitted that narcotics smuggling is one of the main leads investigators are working on but it is “not the only lead”. He indicated that illegal trade of arms, gold and body smuggling is also being explored.
“The investigation started out from an unknown – just an aircraft - so we have not narrowed it to a specific and we have gone far and wide afield to see what we can gain to assist us to make a breakthrough in this case, leading to the trace of the pilot and discovery of any motive that may have brought the aircraft where it was found.” Asked whether fingerprints were taken from the aircraft and the Tacoma vehicle, Felix said investigators were able to lift “one print” but he declined to say whether it was from the aircraft or the vehicle.
And on the issue of whether the aircraft was modified in any way, Felix said “we suspect so”. “What we did see were two features on the aircraft which suggest an alteration. The door at the back which suggests a kind of facility for dropping…and there were some leads (hoses) seen between the right wing leading to the seat behind the co-pilot and we suspect, as laymen, that that arrangement would facilitate an extension of the flight by virtue of having additional fuel on board.”
Aviation sources said the aircraft is fitted with a specially modified door at the bottom which, when open, will drop whatever is in the hold. It is understood that this special drop door is usually built on aircraft cocaine rings use to make flyover drops. Police are also looking into the ownership of the Kwapau airstrip, and according to Felix, investigations seem to point to a well-known business group in Guyana as the owner.
“This information is not conclusive as yet and investigations are continuing to ascertain the true owner of the airstrip,” he said. Meanwhile, Guyana has written the air traffic authorities in neighbouring Venezuela seeking clarification on the incursion into Guyana’s airspace of the aircraft.
Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Mr. Chabeenanan Ramphul told the Chronicle on Tuesday that he had written the Venezuelan Air Traffic Control “querying” why a Venezuelan-registered aircraft had flown over Guyana’s airspace without any prior notice or approval from the Guyanese authorities. He said what was even more disturbing was the fact that the aircraft was actually and “physically” discovered on Guyana’s soil. Officials said the aircraft was still on the airstrip up to late yesterday. (Mark Ramotar/Guyana Cronicle)
Sea pirates attack Surinamese and Guyanese fishermen
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Police in Suriname are investigating the hijacking of at least six fishing boats registered in the country. Reports were made at the Coronie police station. The robberies at gun point took place on Monday.
There are also reports that three Guyanese registered vessels were attacked and robbed by pirates. After their ordeal the 12 crew members of the Guyanese vessels were stranded in Suriname.
According to Surinamese police sources, the six fishing boats were conducting their business along the coast nearby the Coronie and Commewijne districts and other places when they were attacked, by a gang of seven allegedly Guyanese men, one of whom was armed with a hunting riffle. The crew members of the fishing boats were Surinamese and Guyanese nationals.
The criminals seized 16 outboard motors and the catch and subsequently fled the scene. As yet it is unknown if the same pirates were responsible for the attacks on the Guyana fishing boats, said to be fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. Since monitoring of its territorial waters in Suriname is very poor foreign, fishermen including Guyanese frequently operate illegally in Suriname waters.
It is not clear how the Guyanese fishermen who left Guyana Friday night and were supposed to stay two days at sea landed in Suriname. Unaware of the fact that her three boats were hijacked, Baby Kurmiah, Tuesday morning sent a fourth vessel to Suriname to tow back a boat of her neighbor after it too was hijacked two days ago.
Earlier this month police in Suriname arrested three illegal Guyanese men for alleged sea robbery in Suriname’s territorial waters and other felonies on land. The arrests were made by officers of the Nieuw-Amsterdam police station in the Commewijne district.
The preliminary police investigations revealed that the three men from neighboring Guyana entered Suriname via the illegal ‘back track route’ in Nickerie. With them they brought an outboard motor. In the Geyersvlijt residential area in the northern part of capital Paramaribo the suspects has stolen a boat and sailed to the fishermen’s village Baki in the Commewijne district.
On arrival in Baki they captured a seaworthy fishing boat and allegedly committed two armed sea robberies with the vessel. On their rampage the criminals seized machines, fuel, food items, a compass and kitchen utensils.
Robberies at sea happen in Suriname on a regular basis, but seldom are the culprits, in most cases gangsters from Guyana, apprehended. In most cases they operate with powerboats and brutally attack their victims -- fishermen -- at gun point, take away their catch, outboard motors, fishing gear, cash and other valuables. By the time victims reach shore or get help otherwise to file a complaint with the police, the bandits are long gone when police or navy arrives on the scene.
On Wednesday, a criminal court in Paramaribo sentenced three sea robbers -- two Surinamese and one Guyanese national -- to a three year jail term for a series of hijackings and brutal robberies at sea. The suspects, one of whom is a former fisherman, said in court they have committed the crimes because they were in financial need. (Ivan Cairo / Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
Customs officials in Anguilla confirm seizure of illegal drugs
THE VALLEY, Anguilla: Customs Officials in Anguilla have confirmed the seizure of a quantity of illegal drugs at the Blowing Point Port just over a week ago. The 39.5 pounds or 18 kilos of compressed cannabis and 1.5 pounds of crack cocaine, valued at under one hundred thousand US dollars were discovered concealed amongst food items in two carton boxes.
A male passenger of Anguillian nationality, who arrived at the port from Marigot was subsequently arrested and charged with possession with intent to supply Cannabis, possession with intent to supply crack cocaine, illegal importation of Cannabis and illegal importation of crack cocaine.
The accused appeared before Acting Magistrate Patricia Harding on March 17th and was released on bail of $75,000 EC with two sureties. The matter is due to be heard before the court on July 14th. Customs Senior Management today commended the officers responsible for a job well done in ensuring that their guard is kept up against illegal importation of such substances.
“The public can be reassured that Customs will double our efforts to ensure that such other persons will be dealt with accordingly,” a Senior Official told Radio Anguilla News today. It is also understood that the Officers have received letters of commendation from His Excellency the Governor, who has overall responsibility for the island’s security. (Caribbean Net News)
23 maart 2005
- deny illegal entry
The trio also pleaded not guilty to charges of entering the country illegally. Magistrate Adrian Thompson remanded the three accused after they entered their pleas at the Georgetown Magistrate's Court. The trio will reappear today in Court One.
Surinamese national Anthony Azu Bike Obiukwn, 46,
Nigerian national Anthony Samuel Iwuozo, 30, and
Colombian national Ofelia Mario Varcas Ontiz,
were each charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and failing to present themselves to an immigration officer upon entry into the country.
The three accused were part of a group of five people who were held last Friday at a roadblock at Anna Regina. Police allege that the three entered Guyana last Friday from Suriname through Springlands, Corentyne but they did not present themselves to any immigration official. It is also alleged that on the same day at Anna Regina the trio had in their possession 9 1/2 kilogrammes of cocaine that the police believe they were going to traffic through the country.
Police alleged that sometime after they entered the country illegally they boarded a taxi at Charity and were headed for Supenaam in Region Two. As they approached the Anna Regina Police Station they were stopped at a roadblock and during a routine search the cocaine was reportedly found. (Stabrouk News)
Fishing boats hijacked, fishermen stranded in Suriname
USUAL BERTH: other fishermen yesterday at the Annandale Sand Reef where the boats are usually moored. (Cullen Bess-Nelson photo)
RELATIVES and others were last night finalising arrangements to travel to Suriname to pick up 12 fishermen from Annandale, East Coast Demerara, who were attacked and robbed by pirates while fishing in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was not immediately clear how the fishermen, who were working on three vessels, ended up in Suriname. Owner of the three boats, Baby Kurmiah, also of Annandale, said she yesterday morning received phone calls telling her that the vessels had been hijacked and that the crews were in Suriname. The missing boats are the Ramkumar, Ronita 1 and Ronita 3.
Kurmiah said that around 06:00 h, she got a telephone call from captain of the Ronita 1, Tony, who informed her that they were in Suriname and that their fishing vessel had been hijacked. Four hours later, captain of the Ronita 3, Bunty, contacted her and gave the same story. She said that crew members of the Ronita 1 informed her that their colleagues from the Ramkumar were “around”, but that their vessel had been stripped also.
According to Kurmiah, although she was unable to ascertain how the men got to Suriname, it was clear that the two crews were in different parts of the country. The three fishing vessels left shore Friday night and were expected back in two days, she said.
The owner said that unaware that her boats had been hijacked, she sent out a fourth vessel - Ronita 2 - yesterday morning to bring her neighbour's boat from Suriname after it too was hijacked two days ago.
Up to late yesterday, she had received no word from that boat. Kurmiah said the boats are valued at $12M. She said her son, owners of other fishing boats and relatives were last night preparing to sail to Suriname in search of the men. (Guyana Cronicle/Shawnel Cudjoe)
22 maart 2005
Drop door on mystery aircraft
THE small Venezuelan-registered aircraft police found abandoned on a hinterland airstrip is fitted with a special drop `door’ usually built on planes cocaine rings use to make flyover drops, sources said yesterday.
Police yesterday released photos of the aircraft and said they were following leads and looking for several suspects as they continued investigations into the discovery Saturday of the plane.
The grey and white single engine Cessna, which can carry five passengers and a pilot, was discovered by police on the airstrip at Kwapau in the Mazaruni late Saturday afternoon.
Aviation sources told this newspaper that the Cessna 206 is fitted with a specially modified door at the bottom which, when open, will drop whatever is in the hold. The discovery of the aircraft in the remote region recalled the June 3, 1993 cocaine drop at Loo Lands, about 45 miles up the Demerara River.
In that case, a Colombian and four Guyanese were arrested and charged after a massive security search unearthed bales of cocaine dropped from a low-flying aircraft. Police were tipped off to the high-tech June 3 cocaine drop at Loo Lands where 20 bales of cocaine were dropped from the small aircraft believed piloted by a woman, into the river to men waiting in a boat.
The noon operation was executed with the aid of powerful sophisticated electronic devices strategically deployed on the ground around the dropping zone. In a statement yesterday afternoon, police spokesman John Sauers said no one associated with the aircraft was at the airstrip Saturday when police arrived there.
Iitems found in the abandoned vehicle.Reports indicated that the aircraft was discovered by police from Bartica around 17:15 h Saturday. Shortly after, a 4x4 Tacoma vehicle was also found locked and abandoned near the Itabali Landing in the same area. When searched, Sauers said the police found a quantity of 9mm ammunition under the driver’s seat and several documents.
He said the police “have certain leads” and “are looking for a number of suspects” in connection with the ongoing investigations. Police are conducting investigations with assistance from the Army.
There was also speculation that the registration on the aircraft – YV 2657P – might have been tampered with. Aviation sources said YV designates aircraft registered in Venezuela, the same way 8R is used for those registered in Guyana or 9Y for Trinidad and PZ for Brazil. It is also understood that a civilian pilot will fly the aircraft out this afternoon from Mazaruni to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri.
A team, including the civilian pilot and an aeronautical engineer will be flown into the site this morning where the engineer will conduct several tests to ensure that the aircraft is safe to be flown fly to Timehri, a source said. These checks will include oil change and testing the controls to ensure they are in working order. A veteran pilot the Chronicle spoke to yesterday also claimed that the airstrip at Kwapau in the centre of the Mazaruni area is the biggest airstrip in Guyana - about 2,000 feet in length and comprising of both laterite and loam. The pilot also said Kwapau was at one time the headquarters of the Upper Mazaruni Road Project which got under way in 1973 but the airstrip was abandoned for a long time.
He, however, indicated that the stretch of road in that area is maintained and controlled by a local mining company and there are checkpoints on the road that are usually manned. Efforts yesterday to get a comment from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Guyana’s ability to track aircraft entering this country’s airspace and several other related issues proved futile. (Guyana Cronicle/Mark Ramotar)
21 maart 2005
Police still looking for Post Office bandits
A lone customer at the counter of the East La Penitence Post Office several hours after Saturday’s robbery.The Police are still on the trail of the two gun-toting bandits, who stormed into the East La Penitence Post Office on Saturday morning and carted off a substantial sum of money.
The masked robbers entered the Post Office about 7:20 a.m. and demanded the cash from employees, reports say.
After collecting the cash, the men exited the building and rode off on bicycles past the nearby East La Penitence Police Station. One source said that the stolen cash was intended to pay pensioners that day. Although the Police responded quickly, the men had already made good their escape. (Guyana Cronicle)
20 maart 2005
OBAIDUL GHANI
Suriname import 1,735 cars
Reconditioned vehicles have become expensive on the local market since the government slapped a restriction on import of cars that have been used for more than four years, claim automobile traders.
Besides, the government also raised valued-added tax and duty from 78 per cent to 93.88 per cent, and subsequent increase in import cost has resulted in reduced supply of reconditioned vehicles, mainly from Japan, they say.
According to available statistics, 8,000 reconditioned vehicles were imported from Japan in 2003-04, down from 18,000 in or before 2000-01. The number was 40,000 in the United Arab Emirates and 45,500 in Russia.
The four-year ceiling has limited the scope for importers and allowed a section of suppliers in Japan to exorbitantly increase the price of used automobiles, complain the traders.
Market sources say only Bangladesh and Pakistan have imposed such restrictions on import of used cars which they term 'unrealistic' given the purchasing power of people and the size of market in these countries.
The restriction also encouraged import of commercially used or leased vehicles that are usually in rundown conditions, blocking the way for older-than-four-years but better conditioned private vehicles.
The traders say valuation of imported reconditioned vehicles is also discriminatory as the 'yellow book', which sets out pricing of used cars, does not take into account transaction value or year-wise purchase rate.
In case of new automobiles, the importers, taking the advantage of pre-shipment inspection (PSI), allegedly evade huge tax revenues through under-invoicing, said an official of the National Board of Revenue.
The budget for 2003-04 fiscal allowed import of cars which are not older than four years from the date of manufacturing. The ceiling gave a rise in import of much-used commercial vehicles in shabby conditions instead of privately used vehicles in better condition, traders said.
The commercial used or lease vehicles are used by different Japanese companies with the mileage running up to 90,000-100,000 kilometres leaving the engines in shabby condition.
But the privately used vehicles have smaller mileage and better engine condition as Japanese users often change car models.
Private cars, which are even much older than four years, are far better than four-year old commercial vehicles, traders pointed out.
But the age ceiling prevents import of these cars, depriving the domestic users of quality, they said.
Japan exported reconditioned vehicles to 90 countries and most of the destinations do not have any age bar. New Zealand imports vehicles manufactured until 1996, Sri Lanka 1999, Ireland 1993, Malta 1999, Egypt 1992, Philippines 1999 and Cyprus 2001.
President of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA), Abdul Mannan Chowdhury Khoshru said that the price inflation of Dollar and high tax imposed by the government led to the increase in prices of used vehicles in local market.
Chowdhury said if the government allows import of cars of at least six years old, local users will get better cars at affordable prices.
Abdul Haque, managing director of Haq's Bay automobiles Ltd, also echoed the same notion, saying people will get vehicles at almost one-third of the current price if the government relaxes the age bar and gives tax incentives to the importers. The price will then range between Tk2 lakh and Tk3 lakh.
Use of recondition vehicles like ambulance, delivery van, pick up, small micro bus and multi-utility van or station wagon which would be more affordable and cost-effective for the country, especially in the rural areas, Haq felt.
Secretary of Bangladesh Automobile Distributors' Association (BADA) Salauddin Ahmed said, 'The government has not yet framed any concrete policy for the transport sector, causing financial loss and sufferings to sellers of both old and new vehicles.'
According to the statistics of the Japan Automotive News of November, 2004, Bangladesh imported only 659 used vehicles including passenger cars, trucks and buses in August, 2004, while Russia imported 13,523, UAE 10,352, New Zealand 9,104, UK 7,018, South Africa 2,917, Kenya 2,348, Thailand 1,779, Philippines 3,128, Greece 1,801, Sri Lanka 1,944, Jamaica 1,645, Trinidad and Tobago 1,330, Uganda 1,083, Suriname 1,735, Peru 1,757, Chile 1,888 and Australia 1,035.
Human trafficking in Barbados and six other Caribbean countries
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Human trafficking is a reality in Barbados and some of its Caribbean neighbours, and it’s being reported that some of those people brought illegally into the country are being forced into labour.
These findings were made during an exploratory study conducted by the International Organisation of Migration. It examined Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. Co-ordinator of the study, Ashley Garrett said traffickers in these countries are using the illegal status of their “workers” to control and take advantage of them.
“There is a common thread that sometimes the (trafficker) would say, ‘your situation is better off than what you left so if you’re working for seven days a week, getting paid minimally or you’re not getting paid at all, but we’re providing you with some room and board, then that’s ok’,” she said. But she added that “in the international definitions and in many of the national legislations of these countries, that’s illegal and certainly forced labour.”
This news comes on the heels of a warning by Barbados’ Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Sheila Stuart that although trafficking in women and children – especially for sexual purposes – is not even a minor problem here, the tourist industry and the opening up of the labour markets could see the illegal activity surfacing sooner or later. She says there is growing concern about trafficking in the Caribbean and Latin America generally, but making specific reference to Barbados she said because the country is a hub for travel throughout the region it will be vulnerable.
“We have to look at the fact that with the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and so on, Barbados is seen as one of the more developed countries in the region with a very strong dollar,” she said. “We have to be always mindful of the fact that it is where the money is that people are likely to find themselves trafficked. People tend to go where they think economic and social opportunities will be better for them,” Ms. Stuart added (Caribbean Net News)
17 maart 2005
Anti-kidnapping squad scores
Child rescued, three suspects held
SAFE AND SOUND! Jonathan Ganesh and his three-year-old sister Sarah after he was returned to his family yesterday. (Mike Norville photo)
THE police anti-kidnapping squad was last night hunting the suspected ring leader following the arrest of three accomplices and the rescue of a kidnapped schoolboy.
The schoolboy disappeared after he left school for home nearby in Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara just after noon Tuesday. Almost four hours after, someone phoned the family demanding a $2M ransom for the boy’s safe return, and the terrified family called in the police.
WANTED Michael SinghThe police anti-kidnapping squad was deployed and following leads and monitoring further phone calls at the family home, detectives some seven hours after, swooped on a house on the old railway embankment near Lamaha Street, Georgetown and found Jonathan alive and well. Members of the squad held a woman and two men and police later issued a wanted bulletin for Singh, also known as
'Michael Hanoman Singh', 'Shines', 'Mikey', 'Photo Man' and
'Pone Head'.
Police said he lives on the Lamaha Embankment, is about 5 feet, six inches tall, of medium built, brown in complexion, about 27 years old and has a scar under the left eye. A member of the kidnapping gang was still phoning the boy’s home even after he was rescued and his father said the last call came about 15 minutes before cops delivered Jonathan safe and sound about 01:30 h yesterday.
It was a joyful reunion for the family after some 13 harrowing hours but his mother, eight months pregnant, had to see a doctor following the ordeal of her son being kidnapped and his life threatened. The saga began about 12:30 h Tuesday when the boy left school.
Jonathan, the second of three children, was snatched by at least two persons while on his way from the Campbell Trust Nursery School, two corners away from his home at Lot 469 Grove Housing Scheme. In the safety of his family again, he yesterday told this newspaper that he was on his way from school with a friend when 'Ann' approached him and took him to the public road.
His father Gangaram Ganesh said they do not know the `Ann’ he was referring to. "I was taking Brandon (his friend) home and Ann carry meh to the public road and told me to catch de bus with de uncle", the child said. Questioned further, Jonathan said the next thing he remembered was being taken back to his family by policemen yesterday morning. Relating what occurred on Tuesday, the father said he began feeling uneasy around 12:30 h when his son failed to come home, since he usually leaves school at noon. "When I went to the school and the head mistress told me that he left already, I started looking around the place for him."
He said the search was in vain and the family began to worry. From the time he was kidnapped to the time of his return, the abductors made contact with the family six times, speaking for about three minutes each time, Ganesh related. He said the family received the first call around 16:00 h on their home telephone. According to Ganesh, although the telephone had a caller's ID, the number did not show up, suggesting that the call was made with a pre-paid phone card.
He said that when he answered the telephone, a male voice on the other end informed him that Jonathan had been kidnapped. The caller demanded $2M ransom for the boy’s safe return. "The person said that if they did not get the money, they would slit his throat and dump his body", he said. During the telephone call, the man demanded that the money be dropped in front of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church on Regent Street, opposite the Bourda Market in Georgetown.
He said the family immediately contacted ranks from the Grove Police Station who came over and monitored the subsequent phone calls. The second call came three-and-a-half hours later at 19:30 h, the third at 20:00 h, the other an hour later, another at midnight and the last came 15 minutes before the child was returned home (1:15 h). The family's relief at having their child reunited with them was evident when this newspaper visited yesterday. Neighbours occasionally popped in to tell the family that they had been praying for them the entire time.
Police said he was found alive and well around 23:15 h Tuesday after the search on the Railway Embankment in Georgetown. The boy's mother Samantha was not well when this newspaper visited, still under trauma from the ordeal. She had to visit the doctor earlier in the day, her husband said. Jonathan will be kept away from school until the new term starts, and according to his father, he will be taking his children to and from school to prevent his family being put through another such terrifying experience. (Gyana Cronicle)
Police under fire again in Buxton
POLICE came under fire in Buxton again yesterday when they mounted another raid to rid the troubled East Coast Demerara village of criminal elements. No one was reported hurt but police said they arrested 20 persons after searching several houses.
A police corporal was shot in the left leg last week when cops moved into the southern section of the village to check reports that a dead body was on a dam in the cane fields. Gunfire erupted early yesterday morning when ranks mounted a cordon and search operation to look for the reported remains of the missing man and to arrest criminal elements, police said in a press release.
As the search got under way, gunshots were fired in an apparent attempt to warn those hiding out that police were in the area, the release said. The police party also came under fire. Police said that after a thorough search, 20 persons suspected to be involved in criminal activities were arrested. Cops also found a camouflage shirt, a black army military type jacket and a wig. Police said those arrested were being detained until they are able to establish whether they were involved in previous criminal activities.
Yesterday’s operation was another in the “determined efforts to rid Buxton of its criminal elements”, police said. Reports in other media have said the body of a Mark Wilburg had been seen on a dam since last week and police yesterday appealed to his relatives to provide them with any information that can help their investigations. (Gyana Cronicle)
16 maart 2005
Four Colombians dead, 17 missing in waters near Aruba
BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AFP): Four Colombian migrants died and another 17 people went missing as they tried to reach the Caribbean island of Aruba in a boat that set out from Venezuela, authorities said Tuesday.
Colombia's consul on the island, Ventura Diaz, told local media the boat set out late Saturday from Puerto Fijo, Venezuela, with 20 undocumented Colombian migrants and two Venezuelans on board.
Diaz said that when authorities spied them the Colombians jumped overboard apparently, fatally, believing they were in shallower water.
The 17 missing included two suspected Venezuelan smugglers. A Colombian survivor said that a Venezuelan smuggler charged the migrants, mostly from Valle department, 250 dollars per person to take them to Aruba. (Caribbean Net News)
Jamaican minister calls for unity in crime fighting
Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips (centre), in discussion with Minister of Development, Dr. Paul Robertson (left), at the Portmore Crime Prevention and Community Safety Forum. At right is Mayor of Portmore, Councillor Geroge Lee.
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Jamaican Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips has called for cooperation between citizens and the security forces to fight crime and public disorder in the society.
"Unless the citizens have trust in the security forces and until the security forces have respect for its citizens and the two are able to come together as one, it would not be possible for us to win the battle," Minister Phillips stated. He was speaking at the Portmore crime prevention and community safety forum held Sunday in St. Catherine.
The Minister argued that the illegal drug trade, which had expanded over the past 15 to 20 years, had led to the formation of organised crime groups in rural and urban Jamaica with linkages to overseas criminals. "The drug trade has provided the drugs, it has provide the guns, it has formed the gangs and it has created an international linkage between local criminality and overseas criminals. Have no doubt that we are dealing with serious organised crime in Jamaica," he stated.
Dr. Phillips called on the residents to mobilise and to prevent the emergence of crime in their communities, especially the involvement of young persons in criminal activities. According to him, too many young people were being socialised into "lewdness, rudeness and uncivilised behaviour" and urged the residents to develop strategies to deal with this problem.
Meanwhile, Cornelius Walker, Superintendent of Police in charge of the St. Catherine South Division, which comprises Bridgeport, Waterford, Old Harbour, Old Harbour Bay and Central Village, informed that 26 murders have been committed in the division since the start of the year and 22 firearms were recovered. He noted that there has been a reduction in shooting, robberies and break-ins, while the number of rapes had increased over the same period last year. A total of 145 murders were committed in the division in 2004.
Superintendent Walker urged the residents to support the police in their crime fighting efforts. "It is not a matter of what the police is going to do, but it's a matter of what we are going to do," he said. The forum was part of a series organized by the Ministry of National Security to encourage citizens to share their ideas in the area of crime fighting. Other fora have been held in Clarendon, St. James and Spanish Town.
Other speakers at the meeting were Minister of Development and Member of Parliament for South Eastern St. Catherine, Dr. Paul Robertson and Mayor of Portmore, George Lee. The meeting also included workshops on preventing youth crime; illegal sand mining and squatting; improving community safety and security; sex crimes; dispute resolution; drug abuse and rehabilitation; and the reintegration of deportees. (Caribbean Net News)
Trinidad and Tobago's police service re-tooled to fight crime
T&T Police officials at the Press Conference
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: According to Trinidad and Tobago's National Security Minister, Martin Joseph the Patrick Manning Administration intends to spend $5.7 million over a twelve-month period to transform the Police Service.
Speaking at a recent press conference Minister Joseph introduced a plan by Dr. Stephen Mastrofski, Professor of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, which he said is aimed at ‘optimising the management of the police service and its ability to effectively fight crime’.
Dr. Stephen Mastrofski, who heads the transformation team, said the plan consisted of a Strategic Approach To Crime, and Building Organisational Muscle. The Strategic Approach includes Crime Control Seminars, Strengthened Crime Analysis, Better Crime Data, More Effective Police Prosecutions, Generating More Public Support, and a Special Homicide Task Force.
Building Organisational Muscle involves eliminating dysfunctional organisational practices and improving those that create a functional, merit-based organisation. According to a government report, the first phase of the plan involves improving police decision making to deal with crime. In January, twenty-seven senior Police Officers started a five-month crime control training seminar in preparation for the transformation. This involves strategic crime control, using statistical packages, computers and geographic information systems to improve the lawmen’s crime-fighting capability.
Phase two involves a number of high-level courses, taught by Professors from the George Mason, Penn State, and San Francisco Universities. “No fewer than 1,200 officers will be the beneficiaries of these courses meant to enhance their careers and the manner in which they discharge their duties”, Minister Joseph said.
The transformation will also include observing police investigations of complaints against police officers and measures to address the existing backlog of complaints; improving the existing performance appraisal system; observing police prosecutions; examining the laws and police policies; and various organisational change activities.
Dr. Jeffrey B. Snipes, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at San Francisco State University, Dr. Edward R. Maguire, Associate Professor of Administration of Justice and Dr. Jon B. Gould, Assistant Director of the Administration of Justice Program, both of the George Mason University, are assisting Professor Mastrofski in executing the work plan. (Caribbean Net News)
15 maart 2005
US warning is ‘enormous psychological blunder’, says former Suriname dictator
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: An ‘enormous psychological blunder’, that’s what the US warning that, if he becomes Suriname’s next president, the United States will sever relations with Suriname, is to former coup leader and dictator Desi Bouterse.
Bouterse, currently an elected Member of Parliament, is appointed to run for the presidency by his National Democratic Party (NDP) when Suriname holds general elections on May 25 this year. With two months to go before the elections the Americans couldn’t have made a much bigger mistake, Bouterse said last Friday night at a special meeting of the NDP.
With some 2000 followers in attendance at NDP’s headquarters, the party leader noted that people won’t be preoccupied too long with the US statement because of the existing bad economic situation in the country and their struggle to survive.
“This is an inconceivable blunder,” said the politician. According to Bouterse the US action was meant to intimidate the electorate, especially voters who haven’t made up their mind yet who to vote for, and to influence the elections to the disadvantage of his party.
The NDP leader also criticized the role supposedly played by Cliff Djamin, public relations officer at the US Embassy, in the release of the statement. Djamin, former director of the government’s information bureau (NVD) according to Bouterse is a member of coalition party SPA. With the released statement, Bouterse suggested that Djamin is trying to help the New Front coalition, since the coalition is legging behind in the opinion polls and may lose the elections.
The political leader also slammed the US for not adhering to UN Resolution 50/172, in which is stated that foreign countries should not interfere in other sovereign country’s internal affairs, such as parliamentary elections. He blames the ministry of Foreign Affairs for not taking any formal action against the US Embassy and seeks an explanation.
“No we just don’t do that, but put our sovereignty at risk, merely for party political reasons,” said a disgruntled Bouterse last Friday night.
Meanwhile president Ronald Venetiaan said that his government won’t seek any clarification from the US Embassy on the statement. Earlier vice-president Jules Ajodhia noted that the government has nothing to do with the statement and that it is up to Bouterse and his party to comment on this issue.
According to former president Jules Wijdenbosch, it would have been better if the US had adhered to accepted international standards and principles not to comment on the internal affairs of a sovereign country in regards to issues such as elections. The Bush administration, according to the former president, should have kept their views to themselves or voice their standpoint on their own territory.
Washington warned that is won’t deal with a government led by someone with a criminal record. In 1999 Bouterse in absentia was sentenced to an 11-years jail term for cocaine trafficking to the Netherlands, by a Dutch court. The former dictator characterized the conviction as a political trial. In December 2005 Bouterse along with 26 other suspects was notified by the state prosecutor that he will have to stand trial for the murder of 15 government critics in December 1982, when he was army chief and absolute ruler in Suriname. No date is set for the trial yet. (Ivan Cairo Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
14 maart 2005
US to sever ties with Suriname if former dictator becomes president
Desi Bouterse
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The United States has warned that if former Surinamese dictator Desi Bouterse is elected as president in Suriname, the Bush administration will sever all ties with this CARICOM member state.
Bouterse’s National Democratic Party (NDP) announced recently that their leader would become the next president if the party wins the upcoming parliamentary elections. Suriname goes to the polls on May 25 to choose a new parliament, districts- and provincial councils. The president is subsequently elected in parliament or in a joint meeting of parliament and districts and provincial councils.
In a statement released last week to the media, the US embassy in Paramaribo, said that is the sovereign right of the Surinamese people to choose its political leaders, but Washington won’t deal with a person in the presidential seat who is convicted on drug charges. In 1999 Bouterse was sentenced to an 11-year prison term by a court in the Netherlands for cocaine trafficking.
The US statement caused quite a stir in political circles in Suriname and the Netherlands. Some see the statement as meddling in Suriname’s internal affairs and a deliberate action to influence the elections. Party officials of Bouterse’s NDP in first instance are said to have taken notice of the US position and will deal with that.
Others are downright annoyed and are calling for a formal response from the government.
Meanwhile President Ronald Venetiaan told journalists that he took notice of the statement but won’t lodge a formal response or complaint. Earlier, Vice-president Jules Ajodhia noted that the government won’t respond to everything that is being said. On this specific issue, Ajodhia claimed that Bouterse and his party have to respond, not the government.
According to former president Jules Wijdenbosch it would have been better if the US had adhered to accepted international standards and principles not to comment in the internal issues of a sovereign country in regard to issues such as elections. The Bush administration should have kept their views to themselves or voice their point of view on their own territory.
Meanwhile Dutch parliamentarians questioned their government whether the Dutch administration has taken notice of the US statement and if Washington consulted with the Netherlands on this matter. Also they want to know what Holland’s position would be, if Bouterse became president.
Bouterse, now an elected member of parliament, is also being accused of sever human rights violations and other atrocities when he was in power from 1980 to 1987. In December 2004, the former military leader was notified by the state prosecutor that he and 26 others will be indicted for the December 1982 killing of 15 government critics.
Among the victims were journalists, trade unionists, lawyers, military officers and businessmen. The 15 men were reportedly executed in Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo after they were arrested for allegedly conspiring against the government. This conspiracy theory was, however, never substantiated.
Bouterse, who led a successful military coup in February 1980 and ruled the country as a dictator, stepped down in 1987 after his party lost the democratic elections in November of that year. He briefly seized power again in a bloodless, so called telephone coup in 1990. In all the opinion polls held during the past six months, the NDP turns out to be the strongest individual party. (Ivan Cairo / Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
Correction bureau officers arrested on drug charges in St Thomas
CHRISTIANSTEAD, USVI: Police on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands on Friday arrested two Corrections Bureau officers on drug charges as efforts by the government are being stepped up to clean the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility of alleged criminal activity. The latest arrests comes more than a week following the arrest of another Corrections officer on drug charges.
The two Correction Bureau officers Anthony Rhaney and Anthony Edwards were picked up on Friday by agents of the Virgin Islands (VI) Justice Department and charged with possession with intent to distribute and introduction of narcotics into a prison which is a serious matter. According to Acting Attorney General Alva Swan, the Justice Department intends to "weed out the bad apples" in the prison.
"We want the community to understand that we are on the case with Golden Grove," Swan pointed out adding that, "it's a continuing effort, and there is more to come." Bail for duo was set at $100,000 each. (Caribbean Net News)
11 maart 2005
US ambassador says resources for drug fight are success-driven
Bullen made these remarks yesterday while answering questions posed to him by reporters in relation to Presi-dent Bharrat Jagdeo's charge that the US was not providing adequate financial resources to Guyana to help in the fight against narco-trafficking.
"We are all in a competition for resources and if there is success then there will be a greater case," the US envoy said.
With Bullen present in the audience, Jagdeo had earlier told a Police Officers' conference that the country's fight against the expanding drugs trade was not being helped by the unequal partnerships between the United States and other countries in the region. He said there was a greater need for stronger partnerships and cooperation.
Reacting to the stinging report from the US Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement which emphasised that Guyana is a trans-shipment point for South American cocaine and which criticised the drug fight here as weak, Jagdeo told the Annual Police Officers' Con-ference that Guyana is still not getting the best of what should be a US-Regional fight against narcotics and crime.
But Bullen said that despite the President's utterances the report speaks for itself. Questioned about the lack of resources from the US to fight the drug scourge, Bullen told reporters that "resources were success-driven." On the issue of sharing information as Jagdeo said the US had not responded since a request was made one year ago, Bullen stated that the US had shared information with Guyana on drug traffickers in the past. He said the decision to do this was however with the US Justice Department.
Jagdeo said resources to fight drug trafficking had to go beyond a few training programmes and equipment. He said Guyana needs financial and economic support to do this. The US report also charged that there is corruption within the Guyana Police Force and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit. Jagdeo declared that anyone within these agencies who is found culpable would be dealt with condignly.
Addressing police officers at the conference Jagdeo said he was excited about the force's vision which was outlined by Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix. He noted that many years ago he had urged that police work should go beyond catching criminals. He said in order for the force to be more dynamic it had to change with the time.
The President said he was eagerly awaiting the report of the Task Force on Organisa-tional Change (TFOC) which Felix assured the gathering yesterday would be set up during the course of the three-day conference.
The Head-of-State challenged the force to follow the lead of the army by having their own doctor and developing their own information technology unit. He said the time has come for the police force to create a wide range of opportunities to attract young people who at present see policing as just catching criminals.
The President thanked Felix for the leadership he has provided to the force since his appointment, noting the exemplary performance of the organisation during the last Christmas season when crime is usually rampant, and also during the recent floods. Admitting that resources were still limited, Jagdeo assured that security and law and order were top priorities of his government and so the force's budgetary allocation this year was moved up to $4 billion.
Jagdeo told the officers that most regional heads are preoccupied with the fight against crime. He said if they don't fight it tourism will suffer, migration will soar and foreign investments will dry up. While applauding the force's medium-term vision for the next ten years which Felix outlined, Jagdeo said there are some things which need to be done in the short-term.
He pointed out that the police had to raid the many drug houses in city wards and other parts of the country which are accessible to the nation's children. He said the drug houses were everywhere, noting that there was one in his village of Unity, Mahaica. "We can't just fight the drugs going up to North America and elsewhere, but we have to deal with the petty ones," Jagdeo declared.
He said going after the small drug dealers did not require much intelligence. He called on Felix to hold his divisional commanders more accountable so as to clean out the drug houses in the communities. Touching on traffic, Jagdeo said it boggled his mind that up to now minibus operators are still being slapped with $150 tickets for breaking traffic laws. He called for stiffer fines and a significant hike in the ticket penalty.
He also mentioned that government was currently working on mobilising financial resources from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to purchase equipment for the force. He said some of the money when acquired could be used to finance the ten-year-vision plan. (Stabroek News/Nigel Williams)
10 maart 2005
Berbice police arrest 'old head' suspect in taxi man murder probe
The suspect hails from Number 78 Village, Corentyne, the same place where the taxi driver was hired by two men for a drop off at New Amsterdam. The suspect has had several brushes with the law ranging from stealing vehicle parts to robberies. Up to press time last night he was in police custody.
Police are treating him as a prime suspect according to reports, even while they are trying to locate the dead man's car, HB 2259, which the two bandits drove away with.
Stabroek News was told that the bandits were spotted in the man's white AT 192 Carina, HB 2259, early Monday morning at the New Amsterdam Ferry Stelling. Reports are that they were trying to cross from NA to Rosignol with the car.
An initial press release from the Police Public Relations Department had said that the men were from Suriname. Officials in that neighbouring country were alerted about the incident. However, Roopnarine's father, Satesh Roopnarine who is a policeman had insisted that the criminals are Guyanese who would lurk around two boat landings at Number 78 Village.
Asked about the suspect who has been arrested, Satesh said while investigations will have to prove him guilty, he was almost certain the man had a part to play in the crime. Yesterday police officials in Berbice assured this newspaper that every effort was being made to apprehend the criminals who shot the 23-year-old man once in his head. A senior officer in the division said roadblocks will continue to be mounted and detectives will follow every lead which could possibly result in the men's arrest.
His father has already made up his mind to quit being a cop as soon as his son is buried. The burial will be on Monday. Satesh had told Stabroek News on Tuesday that his family was pressuring him to leave the job and he would listen to their pleas.
On Sunday afternoon two men hired Roopnarine's taxi at Skeldon for a drop to New Amsterdam. However, before they got to NA the young man was shoved out of the vehicle and shot dead on the Number 19 Village Public Road. His body was discovered around 2 am on Monday with a single gunshot wound to his head. (Stabroek News)
9 maart 2005
-- hijacked car spotted on ferry
THE Berbice taxi driver whose body was found Monday on the Lewis Manor road, commonly known as the Number 19 public road, was killed execution style, a post mortem showed yesterday. The findings were revealed by Government Pathologist Dr V. Brijmohan following an autopsy at the New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary.
A source said a single bullet wound, bordered with gunpowder, was observed at the back of the head, with an exit at the forehead. Twenty-three-year-old Kameshwar Roopnarine, of Line Path, Corriverton, was found dead at 02:15 h on Monday, almost 40 miles from where he picked up two Surinamese men who landed illegally at the Number 78 foreshore.
Police said his last contact with his taxi base was at 19:30 h on Sunday when he called in to say that he was hired by the two Surinamese men who wanted to go to New Amsterdam. After not hearing from him again, a search party was mounted and the body was found.
The young man began working with Raj Taxi Service at Corriverton only last Friday and an employee late yesterday said that the car, HB 2259, a white AT 192 Carina, had not been recovered. A commuter on the 04:00 h ferry, crossing from New Amsterdam to Rosignol yesterday, said the vehicle was on board.
The driver’s mother, Rita Roopnarine, said Traffic Police had charged him with stopping at a `no stopping’ sign and he was Thursday fined $20,000 by Magistrate Krishendat Persaud. The mother of seven said her son was frustrated at being constantly stopped by the police and as a result placed his Tapir vehicle, (licence number HA 4284) for sale, before being employed with the taxi service on Friday. Roopanarine said her eldest child worked the 17:00 h to midnight shift and on returning home gave her $2,000 from the $2,200 earned.
She said that on Saturday, before leaving for the same shift, he told her that the taxi job was easier as he would not be charged for overloading the vehicle nor would he be harassed. On returning home, she recalled that he said he had worked for $2,500 but had used $300 to buy food.
“When he left for work on Sunday, I was sitting in the hammock when my visiting sister expressed concern over the safety of her nephew, considering the high incidence of kidnapping and slaying of taxi drivers by bandits”, the mother said. “I told her that the taxi service monitors the telephone calls, which are registered, on the caller’s identification, so it would be easier to trace.”
The woman, who was crying uncontrollably during a phone interview yesterday, said that after midnight Sunday, and not hearing from her son, she had a premonition that something was wrong. She said she waited for “what seems like hours” until the phone rang at 01:45.
It was the owner of the taxi service calling to find out whether her son had parked the car at home, as they had given him permission to do so, she related. She said she recalled that the taxi had a radio set and “I questioned why they had not contacted him”.
After several hours, Roopnarine said, she went to the lower flat of their house where her son lived with other siblings, believing that he might have returned home unnoticed. But on removing the mosquito net over his bed and not finding him there, “my fears were confirmed…I knew that something was definitely wrong”, she said.
She said that at 05:50 h, her husband, Satesh Roopnarine, who is attached to the Impact Police base at Number 66 Village, received a telephone call from a fellow policeman “and I heard him say “You make a mistake….shoot him in his head?”
“I fell to the floor on hearing the news”, the mother said.
She said that her older daughter, in her nightdress, rushed over to the taxi service base, about 300 meters away, where the death was confirmed. Kameshwar Roopnarine will be buried on Monday and leaves to mourn his parents and six siblings among other relatives and friends. (Guyana Chronicle / Jeune Bailey Van-Keric)
8 maart 2005
Suriname police arrest sea robbers
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Police in Suriname have arrested three Guyanese men for alleged sea robbery in Suriname’s territorial waters and other felonies on land.
The arrests were made last week by officers of the Nieuw-Amsterdam police station in the Commewijne district. The preliminary police investigations revealed that the three men from neighboring Guyana entered Suriname via the illegal ‘back track route’ in Nickerie. With them they brought an outboard motor.
In the Geyersvlijt residential area in the northern part of capital Paramaribo the suspects stole a boat and sailed to the fishermen’s village Baki in the Commewijne district. On arrival in Baki they captured a seaworthy fishing boat and allegedly committed two armed sea robberies with the vessel. On their rampage the criminals seized machines, fuel, food items, a compass and kitchen utensils.
According to the police investigation, the captain and crew of one of the fishing boats which were victimized positively identified the suspects. One of the criminals has been living for almost 20 years illegally in Suriname.
Although the working conditions for the officers of the Nieuw Amsterdam police station are unsatisfactory, they managed to make the arrest and solve the incidents, police headquarter said in a statement. When the robbers were nabbed, police recovered all the stolen goods, and the weapon used in the robberies were discovered in Braamspunt, a tiny village close to the coastal area.
Robberies at sea happen in Suriname on a regular basis, but seldom are the culprits, most likely gangsters from Guyana, apprehended. In most cases they operate with powered boats and brutally attack their victims - fishermen - at gun point, take away their catch, outboard motors, fishing gear, cash and other valuables. By the time the victims reach shore or get help to file a complaint with the police, the bandits are long gone when police or navy arrives on the scene. (Ivan Cairo / Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
134 dead in Dominican Republic prison fire and riot
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AFP): Fire raged through a prison in the Dominican Republic early Monday following a dawn riot, killing at least 134 people and injuring 26 more, authorities said.
One inmate was shot dead in a fight before the fire which left another 133 dead, according to the country's prosecutor general Francisco Dominguez Brito, who was at the prison at Higuey, in the east of the country.
"This is a terrible event," Dominguez Brito told reporters.
Some of the injured were treated in Higuey, which is about 150 kilometers (95 miles) east of the capital. Eight of the most seriously hurt were flown to Santo Domingo hospitals and one was said to be fighting for his life. The fire erupted following a dawn fight between rival inmates in a wing of the prison.
"Preliminary investigations indicate a person who smuggled a firearm into the jail was confronted by another person with a machete," Dominguez Brito said. The inmates then used insect and weed killer to set mattresses alight, he added.
Prison guards may have sought to control the disturbances by firing gun shots and tear gas, said National Police Chief Manuel de Jesus Perez. The police chief said the prison director, Andres Genaro, and the entire staff of the establishment had been placed under arrest while an investigation is held.
It is the worst incident of its kind in a Dominican Republic jail, though 29 inmates were killed in a riot at a prison at La Vega in the north of the country in September 2002. Some of the inmates who survived blamed one of the prison wardens for the disaster, accusing the guard of taking two of the ringleaders of the troubles out of a cell and then sending them back into the same cell with others while he went to get help.
"It is clear there were faults in the checks and in this case there will be appropriate sanctions," said the prosecutor general.
Dominguez Brito said that among the inmates in the wing were at least one member of the Roman Catholic church involved in a child abuse scandal last year. The country's President Leonel Fernandez is away on a trip to the United States and Europe but Vice President Rafael Albuquerque went to the scene as controversy mounted over the state of the republic's prisons.
Conditions at Higuey were notorious. The Bishop of Higuey Nicanor Pena said: "It's a prison made for 180 people and there are 400 inmates." The head of the national assembly, Alfredo Pacheco, said the conditions of the country's prisons made them "schools" for criminals, which led to disasters such as that at Higuey. (Caribbean Net News)
7 maart 2005
New anti-crime drive in Trinidad
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: In a bid to combat gang-related killings and shootings, a new anti-crime programme was set in motion in Trinidad when some 100 police and army personnel got transferred to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
Last week, the 100 officers from Guard and Emergency Branch including the officers of the Port-of-Spain Task Force and other divisions and the Defence Force personnel, were summoned to a meeting at the IATF office, where they were told of their new roles and responsibilities.
One army official told Caribbean Net News that all officers have been given a mandate to patrol high-risk crime sections of Port of Spain and its surroundings and to become involved in intelligence work so as to infiltrate the activities of gangs operating along the East/West Corridor.
Caribbean Net News understands that in this new anti-crime programme, law enforcement officers and the army are expected to confiscate several of the illegal guns that are believed to be used in many of the killings.
A recent survey revealed that in the last fourteen days, several gun related killings took place along the East/West Corridor. Officials at the Central Police Command told Caribbean Net News that Trinidad's murder toll stood at 57 out of which 25 took place in the city of Port-of-Spain. Speaking on the issues, Minister with responsibility for National Security,Martin Joseph, expressed concern about the escalation of gang wars in the Laventille and Morvant areas.
“Just now you will see some efforts being made to address specifically, the incidents of homicides and especially the incidents of homicide that are gun-related and drug-related,” said Joseph. Homicide Bureau officials have welcomed the new anti-homicide plan, pointing out that the homicide unit is overwhelmed with work, with officers investigating as many as six murders at once.
Officers pointed out that on Besson Street where murders occur almost on a nightly basis, the unit has a backlog of murder investigations and are unable to carry out thorough investigations due to the work load. (Norman 'Gus' Thomas / Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent)
6 maart 2005
-- report says CANU believed penetrated, cites corruption in Police Force
UNITED States drug agents trying to stem the mounting flow of cocaine and other narcotics to that country are keeping a closer watch on trafficking rings here, according to a report on the illegal trade. The report released last week disclosed that joint U.S.-Guyana operations in combating narcotics were “quickly compromised due to corruption”, triggering a growing interest and involvement here by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over the past year.
It says there is corruption within the Guyana Police Force and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) but noted that newly-appointed Police Commissioner Winston Felix is said “to be doing his best to eliminate corruption within the force”. The report disclosed that a 2004 DEA effort to work with CANU on a drug interdiction project was compromised before it could be made operational.
“It is believed that CANU has been penetrated and could be corrupt at every level”, it says. The report revealed that the DEA was “providing vetting for some counter narcotics personnel.” It said there was a correlation between the increase in corruption and the rising narcotics trafficking. According to the report, allegations of corruption “are widespread, and reach to the highest levels of government, but continue to go uninvestigated.”
It recalled that in November, a Cheddi Jagan International Airport official, apprehended upon his arrival at JFK International airport, was found to have eight pounds of cocaine. It says that crimes believed linked to narcotics trafficking are on the rise in Georgetown and the informal economy (believed to be fuelled by drug proceeds) is suspected to be between 40-60 per cent of the formal sector.
The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released by the U.S. Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs confirms that Guyana is a transshipment point for South American cocaine destined for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
PRIME TARGET
It notes that while interdictions and seizures of drugs being sent from Guyana to the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean increased significantly last year, the economic, political and social conditions in this country “make it a prime target for narcotics traffickers to exploit as a transit point.” Guyana’s ineffective drug interdiction capability makes the country an easy transit point for cocaine trafficking from South America to the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean, the report notes.
It says the volume of traffic passing through Guyana (based on seizures) appears to be significant in local terms and seems to be growing. Guyana is not unique in its attraction as a target for drugs rings and the report, which covers several other countries, says many Caribbean islands are growing transshipment points. Among these are Barbados and six other Eastern Caribbean islands and Curacao and others in the Dutch Antilles.
The Bahamas is also cited as a major transit base for narcotics going to the U.S. and Europe. The amount of drugs going from Guyana into the U.S. does not yet appear in large shipments. However, a recent US$54.5M seizure of cocaine in the UK and a US$20-40M seizure of 155 kilograms of cocaine in Baltimore highlight the growing capabilities of Guyana’s drug traffickers, the report says. It states that the country’s remote geographic location and limited law enforcement capabilities, as well as high levels of corruption, make the country a prime location for exploitation by drug traffickers.
EFFORTS UNDERMINED
According to the report, the Guyana Government’s counter narcotics efforts are undermined by the lack of adequate resources for law enforcement, poor coordination among law enforcement agencies, corruption and weak legal and judicial systems. “There has been an increase in crime believed to be linked to narcotics trafficking in the past year”, the report points out. It says that the appointment of a new police commissioner last year was “a step forward in the fight against narcotics trafficking.”
“However, a lack of political will and a National Drug Strategy within the government has hampered the implementation of needed reforms to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other law enforcement institutions.”
The U.S. report found that cocaine flows into and out of Guyana through its porous borders and along its coast. “Numerous clandestine airstrips in the mostly inaccessible interior are used to facilitate trafficking from Venezuela and Colombia. Once inside the country, narcotics are carried to Georgetown by road, waterway or air and then sent on to the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean via commercial carriers. It is believed that most flights from Guyana to the U.S. carry illicit narcotics on board.” The report recalled that in March last year, police at JFK International airport conducted an operation involving a major New York-Guyana drug ring that led to 13 arrests.
HIGH PROFILE SEIZURES
Narcotics are also being sent via cargo ships either directly or through intermediate Caribbean ports to their destinations, it noted. In 2004, high profile seizures in the U.S., UK, and other countries involved drugs originating in Guyana. Cocaine was found in shipments of timber, frozen fish, molasses, rice and coconuts upon their arrival in the U.S., UK, Belgium from Guyana, the document states. “Every commodity that Guyana exports has been used to ship cocaine out of the country”, it concludes. It notes that the government’s counter narcotics efforts are hampered greatly by the lack of adequate resources for law enforcement.
“CANU is one of the main agencies responsible for drug-related law enforcement but has no real authority under the law. Officially, the CANU is still a department of Customs, although it operates with considerable autonomy. It is unclear who holds ultimate power over the unit. The scope of the CANU’s operation is believed to be largely politically regulated and directed”, it says. According to the U.S. report, many CANU officers are afraid to take independent action for fear of losing their jobs, resulting in minor effective investigation.
“There is also a great deal of mistrust between CANU officers and the GPF and due to this, there is a lack of information/intelligence sharing”, it found. It also states that law enforcement activity last year was limited to numerous arrests of individuals with small amounts of marijuana, crack cocaine or powder cocaine on charges of possession of drugs or possession with intent to distribute. The GPF Narcotics Branch and CANU continued to arrest drug couriers at Guyana’s international airport en route to the U.S. or Europe.
The report says Guyana Government officials believe that the government’s counter narcotics agencies interdict only a small percentage of the cocaine and coca paste that transit Guyana. It noted that the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard (GDFCG) continued to conduct patrols with boats acquired from the U.S. but there have not yet been any narcotics interdictions at sea. The U.S. bureau points out that the Guyana Government continues to express commitment to both domestic and international counter narcotics efforts.
It says that in 2003, at the invitation of the Guyana Government, OAS/CICAD (Organisation of American States/Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission) personnel visited Guyana to assist in the preparation of a national drug strategy. It charged that the project was sidelined but by the end of 2004, acting Minister of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira reported that work on the project was complete and provided the (U.S.) Embassy with a draft copy. “A finalized national drug strategy has not been submitted to OAS/CICAD.”
COCAINE CONSUMPTION INCREASING
The report said that with material support from the American Government, Guyana established a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in late 2003 but it was not staffed and operational until July last year. “Funding for operations is still being sought for the unit. By the end of 2004, the FIU had conducted preliminary investigations on approximately 28 cases and is preparing drafts of legislation related to money laundering.” The report noted that some marijuana is consumed domestically and said the consumption of cocaine powder, crack cocaine, ecstasy and heroin is increasing.
It says that Guyana’s contentious and inefficient political environment and lack of resources significantly hampers its ability to pursue an effective counter narcotics campaign. “The apparent increase in corruption and amount of drugs transiting Guyana will make combating narcotics a very tough challenge. Assistance in strengthening the GPF and GDF’s counter narcotics and intelligence capabilities through U.S. funded training and equipment will be critical to GOG efforts. Also important are U.S. democracy building programmes that serve as a foundation for good governance in Guyana. Efforts in this area will need to include strengthening Guyana’s weak judicial system, law enforcement infrastructure and reforming legislation to help in combating narcotics”, the report says.
It suggests that the U.S., along with other international stakeholders, must continue to press for thorough reform.
Drug trafficking threatens stability of Eastern Caribbean states
THE report says that drug trafficking and related crimes — such as money laundering, drug use, arms trafficking, official corruption, violent crime, and intimidation — have the potential to threaten the stability of the small, democratic countries of the Eastern Caribbean and, to varying degrees, have damaged civil society in some of these countries. “Regional and international drug trafficking organizations (DTO’s) and various organized crime groups have infiltrated many of the Eastern Caribbean nations, corrupting officials and contracting the services of local criminal organizations, some of whom are now sufficiently trusted by major DTO’s to be given narcotics on consignment”, it says.
It adds that there are reports that Colombian nationals are residing in some Eastern Caribbean countries and organizing drug trafficking operations. Some of the Eastern Caribbean DTO’s also have established contacts amongst themselves to facilitate drug distribution in the region. Local traffickers often pay for services with drugs and/or weapons to limit costs and to increase demand and markets. According to U.S. law enforcement officials, the infrastructure built by DTO’s operating in the region and other vulnerabilities that exist in the region make it ripe for exploitation by terrorist organizations.
5 maart 2005
POLICE have been called in to help Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) officials probing a suspected fraud by Customs officers, Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur announced yesterday. In a statement, he said officials from the GRA Enforcement and Internal Audit divisions and the Police Force were looking into possible irregularities relating to “unaccounted public funds”.
“The irregularities were unearthed at two separate locations, the Customs and Trade Administration, Main Street (Georgetown) and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri”, Sattaur said. He disclosed that three officers from the GRA were assisting in the investigations and said some $1.5M was missing. The irregularities took place from July 2004 to last month, he reported.
Sattaur said the Customs officers being questioned allegedly deleted some entries from the list instead of stating all the financial transactions at the end of the day. “A preliminary report presented by the Internal Affairs Division suggested that the three staff members collaborated to defraud the government and citizens of Guyana of public revenue”, the GRA head said.
He said that an audit dating back six months was under way to determine whether irregularities were perpetrated during that period. “Police are investigating the matter with a view to instituting criminal charges”, Sattaur said. (Guyana Cronicle)
Citizens help cops nab gun-toting bandits
...shop owner shot
PUBLIC-SPIRITED citizens of ‘Tiger Bay’ helped cops chase and arrest two bandits who had earlier staged a gunpoint robbery, Thursday midnight, in New Market Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown.
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| BANDITS TARGET: The closed front of the grocery shop where the robbery occurred. |
Police said yesterday that they had recovered a .38 ‘Taurus’ revolver and six live rounds, $28,000, a gold finger ring and keys that were all stolen from Powder.
A man who is employed by Powder, but prefers anonymity, said the attack took place at midnight when he was awakened by the incessant barking of dogs in the yard and, soon after, he heard a gunshot.
The man said he rushed outside, saw two men running away from the premises and raised an alarm that gathered other people who began chasing the fleeing couple. He said, while pursuing the gunmen, they saw a police patrol and reported what had happened, causing the police to also take up the chase and nab the duo with the booty.
The wounded Powder was taken to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he underwent surgery and his condition was yesterday described as critical but stable in the High Dependency Unit (HDU). Police investigations into the crime are continuing. (Guyana Cronicle)
Bounty Hall in shock again…
Man found hanging after beating wife
TRAGEDY hit the Essequibo Coast village of Bounty Hall again yesterday when a man apparently hanged himself after beating his wife. The victim is 32-year-old father of four, Ramgopaul Ramnauth, who was found hanging from a mango tree, about two miles from the main public road, early yesterday morning.
Villagers said Ramnauth and his 24-year-old wife, Angelina Ramnauth, had been experiencing serious domestic problems and their marriage was broken. They said the couple were involved in a heated argument the night before the tragedy, when the husband flew into a rage, picked up a piece of wood and hit his wife several times on her head and body, causing her to collapse.
The man, on seeing the woman fall to the ground, ran out of their yard and headed towards the area where his corpse was discovered. His unconscious wife, left bleeding from her wounds, was, however, rescued early the following morning by their children. They saw their mother lying motionless in a pool of blood and their screams and cries alerted neighbours who took her to Suddie Hospital where she is a patient.
Up to press time, she still had not regained consciousness and was in a critical condition. As news of the tragedy spread in the village and other nearby communities, scores of residents flocked the scene where Ramnauth is believed to have hung himself with a piece of rope. Police are investigating.
Bounty Hall was in shock last January, when a young mother of three was brutally murdered, allegedly by her husband and dumped in a swamp on the village foreshore where the gruesome discovery was made. It is still not clear what precipitated that crime although some reports attributed it to domestic problems, as well. (Guyana Cronicle)
4 maart 2005
Eight nabbed in joint Suriname-Holland anti-drug and money laundering operation
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: In a simultaneously executed operation in Suriname and Holland, eight suspects were arrested. Three persons were nabbed in Suriname, four others in Holland and a 38-year woman in Mauritius.
The so called ‘Operation Ficus’, a joint-effort from the authorities in Suriname and Holland, was drafted a couple of years ago, to tackle drug trafficking from Suriname to the Netherlands, money laundering activities and illegal money transfers. The operation, spearheaded by criminal judge Albert Ramnewash and police commissioner Chan Santhoki, started around Tuesday 4 a.m. with raids on the premises of the Yokohama Trading Company.
Owners and managers of this company which operates casinos, cambios, money transfer offices, car sales and liquor stores in Suriname, are suspected of belonging to a criminal organization. This organization allegedly smuggled enormous quantities of cocaine from Suriname to Holland and laundered the revenues through their companies in both countries.
The four arrests in Holland took place in The Hague, Leeuwaarden and Capelle aan den IJssel. The woman in Mauritius was captured when she tried to smuggle 3 kilos of cocaine in her suitcase past immigration at the airport. The insides of the suitcase were shielded with a lead coating to prevent x-ray equipment from detecting the cocaine.
Reports made by justice minister Siegfried Gilds that also two army troops were arrested during the raids are being contradicted by the Ministry of Defense. In an official statement the Defence ministry said “the report is inaccurate”.
During the raids at the offices and homes of the managers and owners on different locations in Suriname, heavily armed detectives and military personnel seized documents and computer data for further investigations. Sources tell Caribbean Net News, that none of the owners and managers was apprehended. The three top-managers, including the owner, 40-year old Widjaj Parmessar are supposedly on the run and outside Suriname.
Justice Minister Gilds told journalist at a press briefing Wednesday, that the raids came at the request of the Dutch authorities to apprehend four suspects. These persons are suspects in drug and money laundering cases in Holland. In the raids only one of these suspects was arrested. This detainee, who holds a Dutch passport, will probably be extradited since Holland has requested his extradition.
During the past 18 months Surinamese authorities have dealt a series of serious blows to the drug mafia in the country. In separate cases more than 35 persons were arrested and subsequently jailed, including the son and a half-brother of former dictator Desi Bouterse. Three major drug trafficking rings were busted and more than 500 kilograms of cocaine seized. In these operations two Cessna aircrafts, airplane fuel, boats, weapons, ammunition and vehicles were also confiscated. (Ivan Cairo/Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
Even the dead are left untouched in pro-Aristide areas of Haitian capital
A UN peacekeeping tank is parked in the Bel-Air slum of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince - AFP PHOTO/Thony BELIZAIRE
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): After a tense drive in the dangerous Bel Air neighborhood, the Brazilian peacekeepers carefully bring their 4X4 to a stop: in the middle of the street lies the bullet-riddled body of a young man that nobody, not even the police, dares to pick up.
The Blue Helmets gaze at the torn flesh of the murder victim lying face down, bare-chested and shoeless, among a heap of fly-infested trash in the stronghold of the followers of deposed president Jean Bertrand Aristide.
"Its the Haitian National Police's job to pick up these bodies. We are not authorized to do it. We can only call it in and hope they come," Major Marcio Santos e Silva told AFP while on patrol in the area.
The Brazilian troops, which belong to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), suspect the man was shot by police on Monday during a street march on the anniversary of Aristide's hasty departure from power. The peacekeepers said they spotted the body the same day, and that Haitian police asked them to secure the area before they moved in to retrieve it. Twenty-four hours later, the Brazilians were still waiting.
The people of Bel Air, among the poorest in Haiti, also fear touching the body, fearing they risk being targeted by armed gangs of pro-Aristide thugs known as "chimeres."
Haiti's national police and the locals have serious communication problems, said Lieutenant Colonel Luciano Puchalski, who heads Brazil's peacekeepers. Puchalski spoke at the unit's headquarters in the yet-to-be-inaugurated University of Haiti.
"The police have a problem with corruption and lack of training," he said. While Brazilian troops "talk with the locals, we're friendly," he said, Haitian police "are more aggressive, unpleasant." The 1,200 Brazilians in Haiti are part of the MINUSTAH force of 6,000 soldiers and 1,500 UN police officers keeping the peace in this country of eight million people.
They have little organized local help: Aristide disbanded Haiti's armed forces in 1995, and experts believe 100,000 police officers are needed to enforce law and order. Yet despite isolated acts of violence -- such as last week, when three Brazilians were wounded by gunfire while on patrol -- the peacekeepers said that Bel Air has settled down.
"If we're not around, people wouldn't walk the streets," said Captain Paulo, a Brazilian company commander who declined to give his last name. "Now children have gone back to school and people can get out of their houses. Before, if they stepped outside they were killed," he said. Not even dogs stir under Haiti's broiling afternoon sun, and for the mostly jobless people of Bel Air time goes by in slow motion.
Many lounge about in the streets, sitting on the curb, playing cards and dominos or selling fried plantains or coal, the chief source of fuel in a practically deforested country. Most stare in silence as the UN patrol car drives down their street carrying seven peacekeepers, rifles at the ready. A few wave at them, and a street vendor tries to sell them postcards bearing the Brazilian flag or Aristide's photographs.
Another three Brazilian soldiers are watching from rooftops, and still other peacekeepers from Jordan and Peru patrol the neighborhood from inside armored vehicles. "Fixing a situation gone bad over so many years is a long-term job," said Major Santos e Silva, sweating heavily inside his camouflage uniform, bullet-proof vest and heavy steel helmet.
In addition to their 30 to 40 daily patrols, the Brazilian peacekeepers once a week go around covering wells, collecting garbage, providing medical assistance and distributing food and soccer balls to Bel Air residents. Some even give free haircuts. (Caribbean Net News/Laura Bonilla)
3 maart 2005
THE Police Force last night announced that a top officer from headquarters in Georgetown was being dispatched to Berbice to oversee a revamping of the police division amid mounting crime concerns in the region.
The announcement came after President Bharrat Jagdeo met Police Commissioner Winston Felix yesterday morning and followed a visit to Berbice by Crime Chief Henry Greene to look at restructuring and strengthening the police division. The Police Force, in a press release, said that stemming from the Greene visit, and “revelations made”, Deputy Commissioner E. Wills, DSM will be dispatched to the division for six months.
It said Wills will oversee the management of the division while certain adjustments are made, and “energise law enforcement activities throughout the division.” He will also promote the development of strong and effective community/police relations; develop law enforcement strategies that would effectively curb criminal activities, and “implement such changes for the effective management and operations of the division as he sees fit”, the force announced.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) last night said President Jagdeo was concerned about the security situation in Berbice since some elements continued to commit criminal acts in the county. The agency said the President met Commissioner Felix to address these issues. It said the President noted that the restructuring will also be done at the management level to ensure that the Berbice division becomes more efficient.
“President Jagdeo also said that community policing groups that he has met with in the past must work in a collaborative manner if they are to be effective. He said that he is willing to meet with these groups again to determine what assistance they need”, the agency reported.
It added that Mr Jagdeo, who will be visiting Berbice this weekend, said he will ensure that these groups get the cooperation they need from the police. Greene, on a visit to the region Monday, promised decisive action in dealing with crime in East Berbice.
The assurances were given during a special meeting of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (UCCC) with Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Mr Kumkarran Ramdass, and top brass of the Police Force, including Greene. The meeting was held at Hampshire on the Corentyne, Chairman of the UCCC, Mr Adrian Anamayah said.
He said the Crime Chief undertook to have individual complaints investigated and acted upon immediately. He also promised the upgrading of the Rose Hall Police outpost with staff and equipment, increased mobile police patrols with constant supervision, patrols in Aberdeen, foot patrols in the Rose Hall area during specified hours, transfer or removal of delinquent police ranks and increased police roadblocks.
In a press release, Anamayah said the meeting followed one held on February 24 last between the UCCC and the Region Six Administration during which members had expressed frustration at the seemingly impotent responses by the Berbice Police to control numerous armed robberies in East Berbice. The Chairman was told that it was totally unacceptable and inexcusable to still get the age old excuse of “one policeman at the station”, in spite of the fact that the government was making more and more resources available to the police.
Anamayah noted that members had been incensed over the fact that at a recent armed robbery in which the perpetrators spent more than 45 minutes at the victim’s premises, this was the response callers got from the police at Albion and at the outpost at Rose Hall Town. Members were also quite upset that the Rose Hall outpost was not maintaining regular police patrols in view of the rising number of armed robberies in the town of Rose Hall and on the Central Corentyne in recent weeks.
Ramdass exceeded expectations in responding to the UCCC concerns, Anamayah said. He said that at the Monday meeting, there were open and frank discussions with the Crime Chief and his subordinates and all their concerns were raised.
The complaints included the lack of police response to reports of crimes in progress, lack of civility and professionalism in the force, unavailability of police officers and police vehicles and general inaction by the members in investigating reports made. Anamayah said the Crime Chief expressed surprise at the number of members of the UCCC who had been victims of armed robberies. One member of the chamber has been robbed four times in the last 18 months.
Anamayah said the UCCC was grateful to Ramdass and the Crime Chief and his staff for their quick response to members’ concerns. He added that the UCCC was looking forward to working closely with these bodies to ensure relief for its members from the very disturbing increase in criminal activities in Region Six. (Guyana Cronicle)
Sequel to Friday shooting…
KFC security guard charged with murder
THE security guard who shot and killed 20-year-old Oneil Adams at the Water Street, Georgetown KFC restaurant, last week Friday, has been charged with murder. The accused, David Chesney (no address given) appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan yesterday to face the indictable charge for the capital offence.
Conflicting reports about the incident said the victim had run into the eating place after a foiled robbery attempt and that he struggled, for possession of the gun, with the shooter after being apprehended and handcuffed. It was also unclear how many gunshot wounds Adams suffered as Police battled to restrain a hostile crowd that was protesting the shooting at the scene. Chesney has been remanded to prison until April 11. (Guyana Cronicle)
2 maart 2005
Antigua Barbuda to issue machine-readable passports in CARICOM format by mid-year
A specimen passport of the Republic of Suriname
featuring the CARICOM format (Photo: Maurice F. Merchant)
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua: Antigua and Barbuda will commence issuing new, machine-readable passports utilizing the common CARICOM format by mid-year 2005.
Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said that the matter was discussed at the recently held CARICOM Inter-sessional Meeting in Suriname and he advised his colleague Heads that Antigua and Barbuda will be in a position to commence issuing the passports which will feature the CARICOM insignia, the Antigua and Barbuda Coat of Arms and the country’s name.
He noted that the passports which will meet the highest international security standards will be issued in the colours of dark-blue for citizens; green for government officials and red for diplomats. This he said is in keeping with the CARICOM format. “In addition, the suppliers of the new Antigua and Barbuda passports are confident that security devices encrypted in the new document will make it virtually impossible to forge them,” noted Prime Minister Spencer.
Machine-readable passports, which consist of two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons printed at the bottom of the personal information page, allow data in the passport to be scanned automatically by a machine. The Government of the Republic of Suriname was the first CARICOM Member State to issue a national passport utilizing the common CARICOM format. Other Member States have confirmed their intention to issue new national passports in the CARICOM format: St Vincent and the Grenadines by April 2005; and Guyana by mid-year 2005.
Two held on attempted murder charge in St Kitts
Commissioner of Police (Robert Jeffers (front left) and his officers are concerned over youth involvement in serious crimes
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts: Police in St. Kitts are holding a youth and an adult on a charge of attempted murder.
Police sources told Caribbean Net News that the two were held in connection with the "attempted murder of Llewellyn Buchanan."
According to the police, Buchanan suffered several chop wounds to his body and is now a patient at the Joseph N. France General Hospital (JNFGH) in Basseterre, adding that, the duo were formally arrested and charged over the weekend with the youth being granted bail in the sum of EC$200,000 and is to make an appearance before a District Magistrate on Monday, the 7th day of March, 2005.
Meanwhile, another youth, was arrested over the weekend this time for assault with intent to rob. He too has also been granted bail to the tune of EC$50,000 with two sureties and is also scheduled to appear before a District Magistrate on March 7th. He, however, has been placed on a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew. Police here have expressed deep concern over the amount of young people involved in "serious" criminal activities.
Late last year, Minister with Responsibility for National Security, G. A. Dwyer Astaphan held a number of community-based townhall meetings to address this "persistent" problem.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Caribbean Net News, Osmond Petty, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, said officials are unhappy with the quality of education with which many young people are leaving school.
"There are too many under achievers ," he said, adding that, "it is also felt that this situation lends itself to the crime situation in the country," said Petty. (Norman 'Gus' Thomas /Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent)
1 maart 2005
Police seize ammo, camouflage clothing, firearm manuals in Cove and John raid
According to a release from the Police Public Relations Department, police raided the house around 11 am and seized 50 rounds of .45 ammunition, 50 rounds of .30 ammunition, 45 rounds of .380 ammunition, 65 rounds 35 Remington rounds, 170 twelve-gauge cartridges, and one of each: camouflage hat, pants and shirt and two firearm instructions manuals.