27 augustus 2005
Stabroek News General Manager, Mrs. Doreen de Caries shortly after the robbery speaking to members of the media. The Stabroek News Advertising Office on Robb Street and Correia’s Esso Service Station on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown were both robbed yesterday morning by gunmen who escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.
General Manager of Stabroek News, Mrs. Doreen de Caries, said three men, their faces masked with kerchiefs, walked into the building through the Advertising Department entrance, held up the guard and demanded cash and valuables from staff members.
She said the robbery occurred about 11:30 h and stressed that Stabroek News was not the prime target. Two staff members were assaulted while about 12 others were forced to lie face down when the robbers entered the building.
“The men came prepared and they came for money but we didn’t have much cash around, as always, so they had to settle for the little they took from three employees,” one staffer said. The frightened employee said she was sitting at her desk and after observing the guard at the entrance being pushed into the department; she immediately went into Mrs. De Caries’s office and informed her that they were being robbed.
Notice at Correia’s Esso Service Station
“I kept telling them to call 911 and she got the Police but they came too late when the bandits had already made good their escape”, she added. She said after the bandits robbed three employees of cash, jewellery and cellular phones they demanded that the Advertising Manager hand over what cash she had, but they only got her hand bag and tossed it back at her before walking off.
They threatened her with a gun to her head, but she insisted that there was no cash in the office and the men left. The robbers soon after sped off on two motorcycles. This robbery followed closely last week Wednesday’s gun attack on Stabroek News motor car which was taking workers home. The attack occurred at Costello Housing Scheme, about 04:00 h. The driver and two other employees were in the car.
Three men whipped out guns and opened fire on the car but the driver sped off, and no one was hurt. Meanwhile, Correia’s Esso Service Station on Vlissengen Road, Bel Air Park, Georgetown was robbed early yesterday morning, for the third time this year, by two gunmen who wounded an attendant.
Managing Director, Mr. Keith Correia, told the Chronicle that about 04:10 h yesterday morning, while two employees were on duty, two gunmen sneaked up on them from behind the building and attacked them, demanding cash.
The employees showed the robbers the notice posted on the showcase which says “Robbery prevention in effect; limited cash on hand”. The bandits told the employees they could read and began beating them with their weapons.
Mr. Correia said there is minimum cash on the premises at any time, as bank deposits are made often. Mr. Correia said this is the third robbery for this year and each time the bandits only took off with less than $2,000 after beating employees.
He said his service station operates on a 24 hours basis and the two employees were working the 11-7 shift when the robbery occurred. He is thinking of abandoning the shift as it is very risky for his employees. (Guyana Cronicle)
$50M more for anti-crime surveillance equipment for Police
(GINA) Cabinet at its meeting yesterday discussed the crime situation and the on-going response by the Guyana Police Force. It was recognised that many of the June 21, 2005 additional anti-crime initiatives announced by President Bharrat Jagdeo are being implemented.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Ms. Gail Teixeira, has announced that the President has allocated an additional $50M for the purchase of electronic surveillance equipment to be employed by the Guyana Police Force in order to enhance its crime fighting capability. It is anticipated that this new intervention will help to give greater assurances to the business community.
Already, the Government has agreed to give duty free concessions on electronic surveillance monitoring and recording systems for business places. A recent meeting between the Minister of Home Affairs, the acting Commissioner of Police, private sector representatives and the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority agreed on the procedures to expeditiously handle such requests from business enterprises.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will be coordinating this new initiative between the Guyana Police Force and the business community. (Guyana Cronicle)
25 augustus 2005
Bicycle cops to tackle crime?
Gerry Gouveia
The Georgetown Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (GCCI) is also looking for answers to why crime is not being curbed and what was behind it, the chamber's Presi-dent, Gerry Gouveia said.
Expressing disappointment at the level of response to the crime situation in Georgetown in particular, which ap-pears to have worsened in recent months in spite of government's provision of more re-sources than usual, Gouveia said the private sector was also willing to provide some services and resources. He was speaking at a luncheon held yesterday at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel.
In the meantime private sector representatives have made a number of recommendations to the Guyana Police Force "in upping the ante and joining forces" to aid in the reduction of criminal activities affecting the business community, he said.
Concerned about the crime situation and its effect on the business community Gouveia said that the chamber and its sister organisations, including the Guyana Manufacturers' Association, were meeting to find ways and means of dealing with the situation.
Not inclined to say what the recommendations were for security reasons, Gouveia told reporters after the luncheon - at which a moment's silence was observed in memory of those slain by criminals in recent times - that the private sector's plan includes the use of bicycles in a patrolling squad, putting more ranks on the street and the establishment of a quick reaction squad.
He said that the private sector is tapping into the expertise and services of the likes of Major Generals (rtd) Joe Singh and Norman McLean and Colonel Carl Morgan, former military men who are now engaged in the private sector, to assist in drafting the security plan for the commercial community and to work in collaboration with the police force to contain the situation.
It was a major disappointment, he said, that only last Friday at Camp and Regent streets, in the heart of the business community and next to a commercial bank that there was a robbery and there was no quick response. He said that the chamber gets a lot of complaints that the response from the emergency number 911 was not one of urgency. (Stabroek News)
23 augustus 2003
Minister of Home Affairs, Ms. Gail Teixeira delivering her addressHome Affairs Minister, Ms. Gail Teixeira has indicated that despite the increasing spate of gun and violent crimes that have plagued Guyana in recent times, the Police Force has experienced a whopping 51 per cent success in solving these crimes.
The Minister was speaking yesterday at the opening of the 16th GPF Junior Officers’ Course at Police Officers’ Mess Annexe, Eve Leary. She said the increasing crime situation requires a societal response and her comments a week ago about the crime situation was put under the microscope especially by the business community. And she will not deny that the Police have a major role to play in crime fighting.
The Minister of Home Affairs added, that she recognised the police’s struggle in stemming drug crimes, narcotics trafficking, trafficking in persons (TIP), money laundering, domestic violence, small arms and violent crimes, because these crimes are relatively new to us and the changing crime landscape makes crime fighting more difficult. She said that during 2003-2004, the Police came under much scrutiny when the crime situation spiralled out of control and they have taken note and recognised the need for modernised training.
The Minister disclosed that the Police are on the verge of setting up a new and modern database computer system on social statistics which will support Police intelligence and enhance tracking criminals. This programme is supported by the International Development Bank (IDB), she said.
Minister Teixeira said she recognised the seriousness of drug trafficking in Guyana and requested that it be mandatory for all to read the drug strategy in the course.
She warned that for the next two years there will be two major challenges for the Police, the 2006 Elections and the Cricket World Cup 2007 and she also highlighted the increasing presence of deportees who were convicted and charged overseas for serious crimes committed, and ventured that there could be a link between this and the level of sophistication in today’s crimes.
The Minister added that some 60 policemen were sent overseas for professional training and encouraged them to become computer literate.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Greene in his remarks to the policemen yesterday.
According to Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Greene, the course started in 1976 and the conditions then are very different from conditions now. This has called for significant changes in the course.
“These are the men of tomorrow and they will have to maintain order in society; and this is why we maintain this course year after year, in keeping with our mandate to maintain peace and order,” Greene said.
He said despite coming under attack from sections of society, the Police have been working, putting out more plainclothes cops and responding to crimes.
Course participants at yesterday’s session.
“No small time or big time criminals will put us down and we are concerned with what happens to people in terms of robbery and violent crimes,” he said. He urged the business community to bring their staff to identify criminals during identifications parades and spoke of the pains they go through in getting people to identify criminals.
“We cannot survive and do it without the public, without witnesses we are going no where,” he said. He said there has been an increase in violent crimes in recent times here and the force is doing its best and will continue to train officers.
As such he urged the public to support them and added that some 80 guns have been seized for this year. “We have internal problems in attracting people to join the force and to retain them. Some go abroad and do other jobs, while some 80 cops are before court, interdicted for crimes committed,” he added.
The objectives of the course are to provide participants with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow them to understand their role as Junior Officers in the organisation and to develop cutting edge managerial, supervisory and operational capabilities, to enable them to perform at a consistently high standard.
The theme of this year’s course is “Training for greater efficiency and effectiveness”. There are 21 participants drawn from the Force, City Constabulary, the Guyana Defence Force and Guyana Prison Service. The course will conclude on November 18, 2005, with inputs from the University of Guyana and its Distance Education Department. (Guyana Cronicle)
21 augustus 2005
Rumour of affair may have spurred killing
Baby survives stab wound
THE relatives of a young mother who was murdered allegedly by her fiancé Friday night said the man was abusive, and had become increasingly so last week, after he had accused her of having an affair.
The man, who resides in the same district, killed 23-year-old Roselyn Rodney, called ‘Rosey’, at her home at Lot 14 Golden Grove Public Road, East Coast Demerara, and dealt their eight-month-old daughter, Analisa, a stab to her temple, leaving the child hospitalised up to late yesterday.
The girl’s father, popularly called German, said the man was very abusive towards his daughter. Speaking to the Sunday Chronicle at his home yesterday, the elderly man said his wife had warned their second daughter to quit the relationship with the father of her two children after he had become abusive to her and disrespectful to her family.
He recalled that on one occasion, the man placed his daughter’s head between two blocks in their yard and threatened to kill her. “He never talked to my daughter properly. The boy she: “Aye gyal… you lucky I didn’t walk with my gun, or you would have been lying cold right here today… you know who I be”,” the man recalled.
The aged man said he picked up a cutlass to come to his daughter’s rescue, but the man had already fled the yard by the time he had reached outside again. “I couldn’t stand and watch he beat my daughter anymore and not do anything about it,” Rodney’s father said.
The man wept intermittently as he told the dreadful story, and kept repeating that his wife had always begged their daughter to end the abusive relationship.
On Friday night, the alleged killer visited his fiancée’s home sometime after 20:00 hrs in a rage. The man reportedly climbed the stairs leading to the home’s l-shaped verandah and opened the door. After he reportedly stuck the knife in his baby daughter’s temple, he then reached around Rodney’s mother, Pauline, who was attempting to push him away, and slashed the young woman.
According to reports, the woman’s mother watched in horror as her child succumbed just seconds after she was trying to protect her from the man. “We heard screams coming from the home and then the girl’s children-father was seen running down the steps,” a source said. By that time a crowd had already assembled at the premises and public-spirited persons rushed the child to the Georgetown hospital.
The matter was reported to the police. Rodney was described by villagers as very beautiful, loving and friendly. She has left to mourn her one-year-old son Jamal, 8-month-old daughter Analisa, parents Pauline and ‘German’, and sisters Alisha and Rhea.
The matter is being investigated by police and a manhunt has been launched for the killer. (Guyana Cronicle/Shauna Jemmott)
17 augustus 2005
Illegal guns fuelling new crime wave in Guyana
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: In May the popular Trinidad band Byron Lee and the Dragonaires performed their popular number “Too many guns in the town” in Georgetown. Now the country’s crime chief, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene is singing the same tune, only he is not dancing.
Greene told Caribbean Net News that the recent upsurge in crime is linked to the number of illegal guns in the country. Police figures from the Criminal Investigation Department CID show that for the entire 2004 police recovered fifty-one illegal guns, while for the first seven months of this year seventy-six illegal guns were recovered.
CID statistics prove that the majority of the guns recovered were of “Taurus revolver make and we have traced many of them to neighboring Brazil."
Police reports indicate that over the last two months there has been a significant increase in armed robberies. As of July there was a 44 % increase of armed robberies compared to the same period last year. Robberies committed using other instruments in creased by 5 %. On the other hand police say there has been a decrease in violent robberies.
Businesses continue to be the target of what police are calling a new dispensation of criminal activities. Commissioner of Police Winston Felix said, “There are no longer bloody shootouts but subtle attacks carried out by opportunist bandits.”
The country’s crime chief said, police are working feverishly to stem the increase incidences of robberies. He said, “There are increase road blocks in and around Georgetown coupled with increase foot and mobile patrols.”
“The Sophia area, Linden Highway, Berbice, Bartica and the business district in the Interior, all have regular police patrols,” said Greene.
Greene concedes that law enforcement agencies cannot go it alone but will need the public’s help. This is said is also a problem in putting criminals behind bars.
“In many instances witnesses who are sometimes business owners are so fearful of identifying suspects that they sometimes refuse to give statements and in most cases the real criminals walk free,” said Greene
Greene alluded to the fact that the business community has their part to play. He called on them to be more security conscious and suggest that a thorough screening process be conducted when hiring. Greene said, “Staffers need to be aware of what they say since the recent pattern of robberies suggests that the bandits received private information about their intended target.” (Gordon French/Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent)
17 augustus 2005
DIRECTOR of R&R International and RBS Channel 13, Mr. Harry Rambarran called ‘Jack’ and ‘Captain Jack’ was gunned down on Monday night outside his work place at Ramp Road, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Rambarran, 52, of Lot 24 Meadow Bank, Greater Georgetown who sustained gunshot wounds to his left hand and left chest was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital. According to reports, as Rambarran and a female employee were leaving the compound in his vehicle around 11.00 hrs, several shots were fired , hitting the businessman.
He drove for a while then lost control of his car and ran into a power pole on Mandela Avenue. The bandits confronted them and robbed the female employee of $4,000. Clifford Lallbeharry, who was driving in the vicinity at the time, was hauled from his car by the killers who drove away with the vehicle. It was later found abandoned on the West Ruimveldt Front Road.
The dead man’s brother, Jacob Rambarran, said that the entire family is in a state of shock over the incident. He described his brother as his “right hand man” at the Ramp Road business enterprise. He said his brother was a “people’s man”, a quiet individual who was never involved in altercations with people. He described the killing as ‘senseless’ and said that the gunmen probably thought that his brother was armed at the time, so they decided to shoot and then rob him.
However, Rambarran said that his brother was not even a licensed firearm holder since “he never liked guns.” Rambarran said that Jack was the last person he expected to be killed in such brutal manner. “Of all the brothers, we never expected that Jack would have been the one to be gunned down”… “He had just finished working an 18 hour shift and was heading home when this thing happened”.
Relating what he heard about the incident, the dead man’s brother said he was contacted by the female employee who was in the vehicle at the time and he passed the information to the other family members. The employee “is in a terrible state”, traumatised by the incident.
The widow, Angela, was also too distraught to speak. Jacob Rambarran said that employees had said earlier that suspicious looking young men were seen loitering around the premises some days ago. A somber atmosphere prevailed over the business premises when this newspaper visited yesterday as most of the workers had gone home and those who remained were in shock.
Employees described Harry Rambarran as a very nice person to work with and one added that “it is really true that God takes the best to be by his side”. The Chronicle understands that Harry Rambarran was working late on Monday night, since a shipment of cement that came into the country was being loaded off. Reports also stated that whenever there are shipments of cement, the businessman usually stays very late in the building.
His sister, who was at the workplace when this newspaper visited, said that she was not in a position to speak, since “it is all still too painful for me”. Harry Rambarran leaves to mourn his 83-year-old mother, wife Angela, three sisters and eight brothers.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) had recently held a meeting with Minister of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira and Police Commissioner Mr. Winston Felix on the spate of robberies that has been committed on business premises in recent weeks.
15 augustus 2005
Regional crime wave fueled by gangs and deportees
Deportees being shipped back to the Caribbean
Georgetown, Cayman Islands: Down in Antigua, it is seen by some youths as the "in thing", as gangs such as the Red Shirt Gang, the Royal Flock and the White Shirt Gang, to name just a few, roam the streets.
In fact, in a statement that shocked the nation, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, when he was Leader of the Opposition, announced in Parliament that "we have plenty gang".
In Bermuda, more than a dozen violent offenders have been arrested as police there began a crackdown on gangs and drugs in an effort to stamp out violence on the streets.
According to the country's Police Commissioner, Jonathan Smith, the Bermuda Police Service made 1,300 seizures of drugs with a street value of US$44 million, a figure that exceeded by far the police budget for the year.
A number of regional states are now coming to terms with the reality of the existence of gangs that engage in criminal acts, resulting in significantly increased levels of crime throughout the region.
One Prime Minister has blamed this "new trend" on the hundreds of deportees who have been sent back to the Caribbean by the Canadian and the United States governments.
"Most of these rogues left the region at a very early age. Many of them have no families in the region and when they run afoul of the law wherever they are, after serving time in prison, they are thrown back to the Caribbean. You should see the scores of them that are loaded on the jetliners on their way back to the region," he told Caribbean Net News.
Several regional leaders have voiced deep concern over this with Canada and the United States but not much, if anything, is being done to address the issue.
Acknowledging the crime wave affecting the region, St. Lucia's Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, in addressing the 26th General Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), pointed out that crime is a "scourge that threatens all and it gnaws at the very root of economic and social transformation that we seek as attainable fruit of our labours," adding that “we will have to define and implement new radical responses. In some areas zero tolerance measures may have to be contemplated.”
Dr Anthony went on to say that there needs to be a "garnering of forces and a commonality of purpose when dealing with persistent criminality."
It was less than twenty-four hours before Dr. Anthony made his address that two armed gunmen attacked a popular business place in the market square and shot dead an accountant during a robbery.
Meanwhile, there are some who are of the view that CARICOM is "more froth than beer" when it comes to really dealing with the issue of regional crime.
At a meeting on October 21, 2003, held in St. Lucia, the Superintendents of Prisons across the region discussed the feasibility of a regional maximum-security prison and a report was made available to CARICOM. However, nothing has been heard about it since.
The former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Lester Bird, at the 22nd General Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in the Bahamas, laid a White Paper before CARICOM calling for the building of two state-of-the-art maximum security prisons and the establishment of a rapid response unit to deal with regional crime, especially in Caribbean waters. Nothing further was heard of Antigua and Barbuda's White Paper.
However, as the people of the region are terrorised by armed gangs made up of deportees, CARICOM is back to its usual talkshop saying that it "recognised that the issue of security needed to be frontally addressed and effectively tackled in order to maintain sustainable development.'
CARICOM endorsed the Management Framework for Crime and Security which makes provision for a Council of Ministers responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement to superintend policy direction; a Security Policy Advisory Committee (SEPAC); and an Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS).
Heads of Government expressed their conviction that the new Management Framework would contribute significantly to successfully addressing issues of crime and security in the region. (by Norman 'Gus' Thomas / Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent)
13 augustus 2005
Cops kill two in Bernard Lodge
TWO men who allegedly opened fire at members of a police party were fatally shot and a firearm seized on a dirt road off the Bernard Lodge main road in St Catherine on Thursday.
The police's information arm, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), reported that at about 6:00 pm Thursday, the driver of a Toyota Corolla motor car, registered 3400 PH, with four men aboard, was signalled by the police to stop while travelling along the Bernard Lodge main road, but instead sped off with the police in pursuit.
"The vehicle subsequently came to a halt and two of the men who were armed with handguns came out of the vehicle, which then sped off again. The gunmen on foot opened fire at the police and during a running gun battle they were shot and injured," said a CCN report yesterday.
A .357 magnum revolver, with serial number erased, and loaded with one round of ammunition was taken from one of them, said the CCN.
They were taken to the Spanish Town Hospital where they were pronounced dead, the police said.
The police's Bureau of Special Investigations has since commenced a probe into the incident.((Jamaica Observer)
JLP says gov't playing games with police
JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) spokesman on security Derrick Smith has told the government to stop playing games with the police and immediately resolve the issue of their pay increase.
"The government is obviously playing games with the rank-and-file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and this could not be in the best interest of the country," Smith said in a statement.
Cops are seeking a 47 per cent pay hike, over a two-year period, but government has been adamant that they cannot grant a wage increase to the police at this time because of the constraints of the two-year public sector Memorandum of Understanding, which ends next March.
Under the MOU reached with trade unions in 2003, government froze the wages of public sector workers and agreed not to cut 15,000 jobs.
The police, represented by the Jamaica Police Federation, have already gone on sick-out twice to press their claim for wage hikes and have threatened to take further action if they are not granted an increase.
Said Smith: "The threats of expanded industrial action by the police is an ominous sign. It suggests that the fight against criminals could be compromised by the increasing frustration among members of the force.
"The JLP sympathises with the police in their struggles for better salaries and working conditions. Their needs have become even more pronounced over the past weeks with the spiraling increases in the cost of living, and the impending increase in utilities."
Smith said the police should be put above all else and told the government to try reaching an amicable conclusion to the prolonged pay dispute. (Jamaica Observer)
12 augustus 2005
Man gets two years for ganja in his underwear
Williams had eight grammes of cannabis in his possession on Wednesday.
Ranks acting on information went to Water and Cornhill Streets where they conducted a search on Williams. The cannabis was discovered in his undergarments. He was told of the offence committed and was arrested. Williams told the court that he smoked ganja and he knew that it was illegal. (Stabroek News)
10 augustus 2005
Man remanded over rape of ten-year-old
Junior Reid
On the day in question the complainant was walking through his yard when he allegedly approached her and lured her into his house. He reportedly took her into his kitchen where he placed her on a mat and had carnal knowledge of her.
On July 29 he met her at the Timehri Docks where he offered her a cell phone. He then reportedly told the girl to sit next to him. However while on her way home the child told a friend about the incident and the friend in turn told her mother.
Reid pleaded not guilty to the charge of carnal knowledge of a girl under 12 and he has to return to the Wales Magistrate's Court on August 19. (Stabroek News)
Man jailed for planting cocaine in suitcase he loaned woman
Earle MelvilleA man who admitted planting over one kilogamme of cocaine in the walls of a suitcase that he loaned a woman, was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison by Magistrate Maxwell Edwards.
In addition to his sentence Earle Melville was fined $10,000 by the same magistrate.
Melville on July 28 at Regent Road and Orange Walk, Bourda trafficked in narcotics, that is to say he supplied 1.336 kilogrammes of cocaine to Robin Simon.
Police alleged that Simon requested a suitcase from Melville to travel to Barbados. On the day in question he handed it over with the cocaine concealed in its four walls. While she was an outgoing passenger at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri the cocaine stash was discovered.
Melville in his confession told the court that the night before he had met Simon at a bar. He said "she told me that she was going to Barbados and needed a suitcase."
Simon who appeared last Tuesday was remanded to prison after the cocaine was discovered in her suitcase while it was being checked at the internal scanner.
The magistrate remanded Simon, who was also in court, into police custody until Thursday when she would see the Court Five magistrate on the question of withdrawing the case against her. (Stabroek News)
Trinidad citizens group wants national debate on crime
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: A private citizens group in Trinidad calling itself the "Keith Noel 136 Committee" on Tuesday presented close to 50,000 signatures to Trinidad and Tobago's Head of State, Professor George Maxwell Richards by way of a petition requiring that there be a national debate in the parliament on rising crime in the country. The committee is headed by Trinidadian national, 41 year old Stephen Cadiz and was form following the death of a man, Keith Noel, whom he employed.
Noel was chopped to death at his home on May 26 of this year by an intruder. Investigators reported that the killer broke into the victim's house, hid himself and later launched an attack making Noel murder victim number 136 for the year at the time. Mr Cadiz says they were looking for 50,000 signatures showing that nationals were fed up with crimes such as gang-violence and murder.
The Committee has also posted websites and advertisements in the local and foreign press inviting persons to join the petition. The group wants President Richards to use his executive office to ensure that something is done about the increased levels of crime.
When approached on the group's objectives Mr Cadiz remarked that they were not aligned with any political party nor were they aspiring to be one but rather wanted to see a safer Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Cadiz views the situation as unacceptable and says because the politicians have failed it was now time for ordinary people to take action.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning is to meet with President Richards on Wednesday for their regular weekly meeting. The Prime Minister is expected to report on the state of the country. The Keith Noel 136 Committee is hoping that a decision then will be taken to have a Parliamentary debate on crime. (Stephen Cummings/Caribbean Net News Correspondent)
8 augustus 2005
Brazil's central bank was robbed of 156 million reais ($67.3 million) by thieves who dug a tunnel under the bank's office in the northeastern city of Fortaleza, police said.
The 4-meter deep tunnel ran 200 meters (656 feet) under the floor of the bank's concrete, steel-reinforced vault, the bank said in the statement today. After the thieves broke into the 500-square meter vault, they opened five boxes of currency the bank's circulation department was examining for wear and possible replacement, the statement said.
Fortaleza police spokeswoman Sabrina Albuquerque said in a phone interview investigators are estimating the amount taken at this 156 million reais. The central bank said it hadn't determined how much money was taken, according to the statement.
The robbery occurred sometime between 6 p.m. August 5 when the vault was locked and 8 a.m. this morning when it was reopened on the usual schedule, the bank said.
The boxes thieves opened contained 50-real bills, the bank said in the statement. The bills are Brazil's second-highest value bill after 100-real notes.
Fortaleza, a city of about 3 million people, is the capital of Ceara state in northeastern Brazil. (Bloomberg; To contact the reporter on this story: Carlos Caminada in Brasilia at at ccaminada1@bloomberg.net)
4 augustus 2005
Death of soldier
Evidence so far points to Russian Roulette - police
Five of his friends had reported the shooting to the police, telling ranks that the young man was playing with his gun when he accidentally shot himself. Following the shooting detectives recovered a .32 revolver along with five live rounds. Softleigh sustained one shot which entered his right temple and exited through the other side. At the time of his death he was clad in a pair of short pants without any top. One of his friends had also taken out five live rounds from his pocket and handed them over to the police.
Speaking to Stabroek News recently a senior police officer said investigators found no other evidence than that of suicide. Softleigh's relatives however said they were not aware of the police findings. One of the dead man's brothers said even if the police report was correct, results of the autopsy showed that Softleigh was hit on his head prior to the shooting. The brother said they were still seeking justice, urging the police to do more work. Earlier reports were that Softleigh was playing Russian Roulette and shot himself in the bar.
Police had held five of his friends who were there at the time of the incident and relatives were of the view that there was foul play. A close relative of the dead man had told this newspaper that around midnight she and Softleigh were standing in front of their Alexander Street home when a friend of his came up. The friend asked to be accompanied to the bar and Softleigh consented. From all indications, the men went to the bar and began drinking and having a good time. It was around 3 a.m. when an argument broke out between Softleigh and his friends and other patrons at the bar.
A resident near the club had heard two gunshots; the first one according, to the resident, was heard upstairs of the bar and the second one was fired behind a man who fled south along Vlissengen Road. Police were later called in and the five friends who were at the scene at the time told the ranks that they were downstairs when they heard the gunshots. One of them had however sustained a bruise to his waist which he said was inflicted when he tried to restrain Softleigh. (Stabroek News)
3 augustus 2005
Berbice businessman shot in robbery
Parmeshwar Tejram
Parmeshwar Tejram, 56, of Number 71 village, Corentyne, the owner of Vijay Variety Store and Snackette, which is located below his home, was shot on his left arm after he resisted the thieves who stole his gold band, gold chain and two cellular phones.
According to Tejram he was operating his store alone about 12:30 pm when two men came into his store behind a girl. He added that as soon as the girl left the shop, the men whom he believed to be customers, pulled a gun on him after he asked them what they wanted to buy.
He was then forced at gun point to open a gate (which separates him from his customers), for the men to enter his store. They then demanded money and tried to tie his hands which resulted in a scuffle. The men then took him into a downstairs kitchen and again tried to hold him down; at the same time another man whom he had noticed earlier standing outside began to rummage through his store and upstairs. The men then hit him with the butt of the gun and shot him on his left arm when he still refused to let them tie his hands. Tejram stated that at this point he asked the men not to tie his hands at the back because they weren't well. They then proceeded to tie his hands, feet and his mouth with his shirt.
The men then fled after stealing his jewellery and his cell phones. A few neighbours then arrived, untied him and rushed him to the Springlands Hospital where he received stitches to his head and had his arm wrapped after the bullet was removed.
It is believed that the three men arrived in and left the shop using a Tapir which was waiting near the shop. Tejram who was still very shaken up by the ordeal told Stabroek News yesterday that he wants the persons who shot and robbed him to be found. He added that he wants the Commissioner of Police and the Government to know that the police at Springlands are operating very slowly and on many occasions when persons are robbed the police fail to apprehend the culprits and after a few weeks the crime is forgotten.
According to the police a spent shell was found at the scene and investigations are continuing. The police say they are looking for a "known male". (Stabroek News/Keisha McCammon)
Prison officer robbed
Hague man electrocuted by 'repaired' GPL wire
Rajnarain Singh
It is believed that strong winds helped damage the cable which only four days ago was repaired after bursting in similar fashion.
Dead is Rajnarain Singh, called `Sato', of Hague Back. He was knocked unconscious as soon as he made contact with the wire which had fallen on the ground. Eyewitnesses said the electricity first caught on the rear wheel of the bicycle rim which created a force that pitched Singh onto the road. Reports are that even with the fall, the 21-year-old tried to escape from the current, but he was trapped as strong winds tossed the wire about his body until it rested on his face.
The dead man's relatives have chided the management of GPL for poor maintenance of the wire which had burst about four days ago and had been supposedly fixed. Relatives said too that yesterday they visited the Vreed-en-Hoop Power Station to have a word with management but were given a 'royal runaround'. Stabroek News was unable to contact Public Relations Officer of GPL, Marjorie Chester for comment yesterday afternoon.
Police in a release said Singh was riding his bicycle on a stretch in the village when he came into contact with the overhead electrical wire. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital where his body is awaiting a post-mortem.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, the dead man's father Narine Singh said his son was a goldsmith. According to the elder Singh, around 5 pm on Monday, Rajnarain Singh went on to the Hague Public Road to purchase gas. He was on his way home when the wire burst and electrocuted him. Narine said a man who was passing at the same time Singh was struggling on the ground took a shovel and removed the live wire from his face. He then made contact with technicians at GPL who hurried to the scene.
Narine said the damaged cable was fixed on Monday evening but he was concerned again about the quality of the work, saying that the technicians seemed to have been in a hurry. Stabroek News was also told that a GPL crew returned to the area yesterday morning to make another assessment. Singh leaves to mourn seven other siblings, his parents and scores of other relatives. (Stabroek News/Nigel Williams)
1 augustus 2005
Three arrested in Barbados in shooting death of British teenager
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Police in Barbados now have in custody all three men being sought in connection with Wednesday night's shooting death of British visitor, 19-year-old Daniel Christopher May.
Law enforcement officials say they held one man late on Friday after he was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is believed he was being treated for injuries sustained in the alleged robbery during which the Briton was shot.
A second man was detained early Saturday morning. On Sunday, Public Relations Officer, Station Sergeant Barry Hunte confirmed that the third man, accompanied by an attorney, turned himself into police. None of the three has been identified as yet.
Meanwhile, a post mortem conducted on Friday revealed that May, who was shot in the back while at a private house in Prospect, St. James, died from shock and haemorrhaging from his gunshot injures. (Dawne Bennett/Caribbean Net News Barbados Correspondent)