30 september 2005
FBI probed over Puerto Rico gunfight
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (UPI): The U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general will investigate a Puerto Rican gunfight in which FBI agents killed a 72-year-old fugitive separatist.
The shootout at a rural farmhouse Friday left Filiberto Ojeda Rios dead and an FBI agent severely wounded with a bullet wound to the stomach. Ojeda Rios, who jumped bail in 1990, has been accused of masterminding bombings, killings and a 1983 $7 million armed robbery in Connecticut.
Preliminary results from an autopsy said he bled to death after being hit by a single bullet. He was buried Tuesday, The Washington Post said.
An internal team usually investigates FBI shootings, but officials said they wanted a high-profile independent inquiry in this case because of the politically charged allegations. The commonwealth's Justice Department is undertaking its own investigation.
"Based on the preliminary information available to us, we have every reason to believe the agents acted properly," FBI spokesman John Miller said in Washington. (Caribbean Net News)
29 september 2005
BWIA agent remanded over cocaine in suitcase
Sulay Mendonca
Sulay Mendonca, 29, of South Ruimveldt pleaded not guilty to the charge and was subsequently remanded to prison by Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan. It is alleged that last Saturday Mendonca had two kilogrammes 49.8 grammes of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) alleged that on Saturday a man and his wife were booked for a BWIA flight to Canada at the airport. The man went to the counter with the luggage and Mendonca asked him how many suitcases he had. The man allegedly told Mendonca that he had three suitcases and a large glass frame which would be counted as four. However, he was told that he could take it onto the plane as hand luggage. When it was time to weigh the articles Mendonca saw four suitcases on the scale and as such the computer generated four baggage tags.
While one of the four suitcases was passing through the external scanner a CANU officer noticed four dark spots on the screen. A search of the suitcase revealed four packets of cocaine marked `Guyana Coffee' concealed in a false bottom. The other three suitcases and the man were already on the plane. The man was contacted but when he disembarked and spoke to the authorities he denied ownership of the suitcase and its contents which included clothing.
At the time of the discovery the suitcase with the cocaine allegedly did not have any of the markings that the man had described. The man and the BWIA agent were arrested and investigations commenced. Based on the findings of the CANU officials the man was released and Mendonca was charged. Mendonca was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos. De Santos told the court that his client is the person to whom a passenger goes with their tickets, other documents and baggage.
The senior counsel stated that his client has worked with the airline for the last four years during which time he never had an encounter of this sort. De Santos informed the court that his client was never found with any narcotics. "It is alleged that it was found in a certain suitcase which is alleged to have passed through his custody," he said. De Santos went on to say that when the suitcase had reached some other part of the airport it had the name of a passenger on it.
He told the court that the said passenger was carrying four stubs but only claimed three suitcases excluding the one with the substance that had his name written on it. Instead of charging the passenger, De Santos said, the police chose to charge his client. The matter continues at the Providence Magistrate's Court on Monday. (Guyana Cronicle)
26 september 2005
Argument preceded Angoy's Avenue fatal stabbing
Nadia Lewis
Nadia Lewis nee Isaacs, 42, a shop owner operating out of Angoy's Avenue died on Friday afternoon from a wound to the neck which was inflicted by a resident who lives near her. The alleged attacker's reputed husband was also wounded during the confrontation when a friend of the dead woman allegedly stabbed him in the chest, cut him on a finger and pushed him into a trench.
According to Denis Bruce, the reputed husband of the alleged attacker, early Friday the woman who was stabbed to death and his step daughter were involved in an argument. He stated that the now dead woman usually clashed with his reputed wife. The women never got along. He added that on Friday afternoon he went home early from his job as a mechanic and he and his reputed wife decided to go and buy beer because he would have been celebrating his 50th birthday yesterday.
He added that on their way out, his reputed wife looked back and saw the woman and her friend on a bicycle tailing them. He added that when he reached the bridge that leads out of Patrick Dam, Angoy's Avenue, the dead woman's male friend came up to him and pushed him into the trench. When he got out of the trench, he noticed that his T-shirt was covered in blood. At that moment he said he did not realise that he had been stabbed. He then made his way to the police station and they took him to the New Amsterdam hospital.
Lewis' father stated that someone called him and told him that his daughter and another person were involved in a fight and he later heard that his daughter's throat had been slit. He added that his daughter helped him a lot and that she usually cooked for him. She was expected to leave the country soon.
She leaves to mourn her father, six siblings, her son and many friends. The police recovered a knife from the scene of the incident and two persons were taken into custody. (Stabroek News)
21 september 2005
Three years for three grammes
Keith Harris (no address given) who on an earlier date had pleaded not guilty to the charge was found guilty following a trial. It was alleged that on June 2 at Jonestown, Kwakwani, Harris had the drugs in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.
20 september 2005
Six Brazilians remanded over illegal entry
From left: Pedro Oliveira, Monoel De Jesus, Francisca Das Chasas, Alves De Casta and Monoel Bereira.
Six Brazilians who allegedly entered Guyana illegally were ordered to return to the Georgetown Magistrate's Court today after they were unable to plead to their charge owing to a language barrier.
Francisca Das Chasas Alves De Casta, Waldey Goncalves Da Silva, Loureno De Sausa, Monoel De Jesus, Monoel Bereira and Pedro Oliveira were remanded into police custody by Magistrate Bertlyn Reynolds.
Loureno De Sausa
The defendants allegedly entered Guyana illegally at Springlands on September 15 and failed to present themselves to an immigration officer. According to reports, the defendants were the occupants of a vehicle that was stopped at a roadblock on the Diamond Public Road, East Bank Demerara. When asked to produce their documents they were unable to do so.
Yesterday when they appeared, they brought with them their own interpreter, but still repeated efforts to communicate what the magistrate was saying failed. Magistrate Reynolds ordered the police to bring a translator today. he magistrate told the translator that she would enter a not guilty plea. (Stabroek News)
Man killed in Buxton ambush; car torched
It is not clear where the escaped men went.
Eyewitnesses said the three who escaped were all armed, but the dead man was brought down with several bullets as he made a dash into a dry drain. The gunmen later took control of the car and torched it.
The body of the unidentified man had several bullet holes in the torso. It was clad in a white t-shirt, a pair of socks and three pairs of underpants. Police yesterday afternoon visited the scene and made arrangements for the body to be transported to a city mortuary.
In a statement from the Police Public Relations Unit it was noted that acting on information received about 1.45 pm yesterday ranks went to the Annandale embankment where they found the body of an unidentified male lying in a drain with several wounds to the body. The police said the body was clad in short pants, armless vest with markings 'Figure 7' and is about 5' 6".
The release added that during the exercise to retrieve the body ranks received further information and went into Buxton where they retrieved a burnt white AT 192 Carina. Police said investigations are continuing.
Stabroek News observed that the car was about 50 metres from the body, just over a bridge which connects Buxton and Annandale. The vehicle was facing east, suggesting it had been coming from the city. It appeared that five steel planks which had been placed across the road by Buxtonians following the death of the 16-year-old had been removed. Those planks were in place when Stabroek News visited yesterday and it could not be explained how the car got across them. There was no trace of the vehicle's licence plate.
Residents said they heard gunshots around 10 pm, but this did not trouble them as it is the norm in the village. They later saw the flames of the burning car, but that too could not stir them out of their homes.
On the night of August 26, Delon Headley, 16, was shot dead and at least three other persons wounded when unknown gunmen drove through the village and opened fire indiscriminately. Seventeen-year-old, Brian Smith, 26-year-old Delroy Scott and 19-year-old Leon Adams, all of Buxton, were injured.
Reports were that three persons in a large vehicle carried out the shooting. Gunmen have had virtual control over the village for the past three years.
Guyanese in Antigua shot, raped in separate incidents
A 49-year-old Guyanese-born citizen of Antigua & Barbuda, Leyland Roger, had just stepped out of his jeep and was about to open the gate to his Cassada Gardens driveway, when he was accosted by two masked gunmen. He was pushed to the ground and held there, unable to offer any resistance, while the bandits rummaged through his pockets, according to reports.
After taking his wallet, which contained $700 and US$300, they shot him in both legs, disabling him and then ran away. Under intense pain, Roger managed to crawl to his neighbour's home, who, on being alerted, rushed Roger to the Holberton Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery on his injured legs, the report further stated.
One bullet went right through one leg, but most of the other bullet is still lodged in this other leg, although some fragments were removed during the surgery. Roger is now in a stable condition at the Holberton Hospital.
The other serious weekend crime police are investigating is the alleged kidnapping and rape of a 24-year-old Guyanese girl, whose night out with her boyfriend turned into a horrible nightmare. Reports state the two people were at the Fort James beach enjoying the bright moonlight shortly after 1 am last Saturday, when they were attacked by three masked gunmen.
It is alleged the attackers ordered the woman's 31-year-old boyfriend out of the vehicle and then locked him in the trunk of their (the couple's) car. They then bound and gagged the young lady and sped away in the hijacked car.
The boyfriend managed to unlock the trunk, jumped out of the moving car and landed on the street somewhere near Kentucky Fried Chicken on Fort Road. He went to the St John's Police Station and reported the matter.
Further reports revealed that the bandits took the young lady into a barely lit area of Fitches Creek, where they gang raped her. The ordeal lasted more than half an hour.
The woman was left at the scene, while her attackers took off in a vehicle, which had come to pick them up. Police have not named any suspects in the incidents, but are continuing their investigations. (Stabroek News)
Six Suriname deportees in court
Three of them, Leon Jones, Dolly Mangal and Indira Narine, pleaded guilty to the charge and were fined $20,000 or the alternative of 12 weeks in prison by Magistrate Krisendat Persaud.
A fourth, Adrian Matthews, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was refused bail. He told the court that he went to Suriname legally in 1995 and still lives there. He said he had travelled from Paramaribo to Nickerie without his passport, to send money home for his daughter and was arrested by the police and sent back to Guyana. He added that he tried to explain the situation but no one listened. His case was transferred to the Springlands Magistrate's court for September 22.
The other two deportees were a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old. The 14-year-old was tried in the Magistrate's Chambers, fined and taken into police custody at the station. The 17-year-old, the court discovered, had escaped from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) after he had been sent there for break and enter and larceny which he along with someone else had committed on June 19, 2004 at Blairmont. He was also taken into custody and new charges are to be brought against him. His case was transferred to Blairmont Magistrate's Court for September 26.
It was alleged that between July 4 and September 17, the six departed Guyana for Nickerie, from an illegal port. They were discovered in Suriname and sent back to Guyana. (Stabroek News)
17 september 2005
Police shoot and kill bandit in robbery in Costello Housing Scheme
The entrance of the building where the robbery took place yesterday.
One of three bandits who robbed an employee of the Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) Administration yesterday afternoon at the entrance of the Public Service Ministry, (PSM) Waterloo Street, Cummingsburg, was shot and killed when the Police cornered him a bathroom at a house in Costello Housing Scheme, Georgetown.
The dead bandit has been identified as Godwin Gibson, said to be in his late 30s, of Costello Housing Scheme. According to reports, he was shot and killed by the Police who chased after him when he ran from a car and into a house at 188 Costello Housing Scheme, holding a black bag believed to have contained the booty of $414,000 in cash stolen from 5th Avenue Bartica resident, John McKenzie, 40.
A Police statement said the bandits were challenged by the ranks when the car stopped, and they opened fire on the ranks. The ranks took cover and returned fire.
Gibson died before receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Police recovered a sum of money suspected to be part of what was stolen and one .38 Taurus revolver with two empty casings and four live rounds matching ammunition. Reports said Gibson’s two accomplices fled with the police in hot pursuit but they managed to escape.
McKenzie had visited the Public Service Ministry at about 13:30 hrs to do business and was at the entrance chatting with an unarmed female security guard when the bandits, who were following him, came out of a gold coloured motor car, placed a magnum to his head, and ordered him to hand over the black bag with the cash. He handed over the money and the bandits drove away.
“It was like a movie style robbery because it happened within a few minutes and the bandits were neatly dressed and acted like professionals,” the security guard said. She said the car had circled the block several times and was parked on the road in front the building but she did not suspect anything. She told the Chronicle if she was armed they would have killed her and taken the firearm. Quick thinking employees who witnessed the robbery telephoned the Police and they responded promptly and pursued the getaway motor car to Costello Housing Scheme.
On August 12, 2005 Mc Kenzie was also robbed of $600,000 by gunmen in the city. It is believed that the robbery was a planned one and the bandits were trailing McKenzie and knew he had cash. He was very distraught and shaken by the incident yesterday and has since give statements to the police. (Guyana Cronicle)
16 september 2005
Four gunmen rob, terrorise West Bank Demerara family
Williams’ house where the robbery took place on Wednesday night.
A WEST Bank Demerara family is still very shaken after being terrorised by four gunmen who stormed into their home and robbed them of cash and gold jewels on Wednesday night.
Robbery victim, Grafton Williams, 45, of Lot 68 La Retraite, West Bank Demerara, told the Chronicle yesterday that about 10:38 pm he was with his father, who is visiting from England, and three friends playing dominoes outside his home when they heard the incessant barking of his dogs. Then four gunmen, masked with handkerchiefs, came up and robbed him and his friends of cash.
The bandits then took Williams upstairs to the bedroom where his wife was sleeping and emptied the wardrobe of $42,000 in cash and six gold rings. The robbers assaulted Williams’ wife Doris, hitting her in the head with a gun. Williams’ 21-year-old son jumped from a verandah into the neighbour’s yard to get help.
“The bandits bite off the gold ring from my finger and hit my father in his head with the gun also,” Williams said. Williams added that his son telephoned the Wales and La Grange Police Stations but by the time the Police showed up the bandits had fled.
The robbers wanted to take the car parked in Williams’ garage, but he told them he did not have the keys. When they were convinced that there was no more cash in the house, the robbers fled. (Guyana Cronicle)
12 KILLED IN A DAY
... 29 murdered since Saturday
Jamaica Gleaner - The month of September is shaping up to be one of the bloodiest on record with 12 persons being killed in a 24-hour period. At least 29 persons have been killed since Saturday, according to police reports. Bloody turf wars. Reprisal killings. Staggering poverty. Spiralling inflation. Brutal gangs who commit daily atrocities against a cowering, frightened populace. This is the portrait of a Jamaica which has become an incredibly dangerous country to live in.
According to police records, someone is murdered in this country every six hours, and as the murder figures steamroll towards a record number this year, solutions are proving to be elusive.
"The murder rate is running away ... in east Kingston, murders have gone up 100 per cent. There is a substantial increase in north St. Andrew, and in rural parishes such as Hanover, St. Mary and in St. Elizabeth, there has been almost a 100 per cent increase. In the short term, we need to equip the police, tighten the ports, and get the guns off the street," said Derrick Smith, the Opposition spokesman on national security.
Not just a gun problem
"But it is a complex thing, this problem ... remember, it is not the gun per se, but the willingness to use the gun ... we need to produce individuals who don't crave a gun ... and we need to create more economic opportunities for our people." These figures get even more frightening with the latest homicide figures from the Jamaica Constabulary (JCF) which show that 80 persons were killed in the month of August.
Since January 1,184 persons have been murdered in separate incidents islandwide, an increase of 200 when compared with the corresponding period last year. Overall, this represents a 20 per cent increase in a murder rate that has shown no sign of decelerating. "I think we have let ourselves down. We have excelled in every area of living governance, whether as a team or individual, but in the whole area of governance it's been a failure of leadership. We should never be where we are," said Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor Richard Albert.
Monsignor Albert attributed the murder rate to the poverty and social conditions, which prevail in a number of communities. He suggested that the mushrooming murder rate provokes "a national sense of fear and shame".
The Government has attempted several measures to tackle the escalating crime problem. Last October, a crack task force team - Operation Kingfish - began to target gangs, crime bosses, extortion rackets and the narcotics drug trade.
However, the police have made arrests in only 26 per cent of the murders committed this year, and the bloodletting in the form of gun-related murders continues in earnest. The violence has even spread to rural parts of the island with no tradition of gun violence. In the meantime, it has been reported that the explosion of murders outside the Corporate Area is a result of migrating criminal gangs punching holes in the government's crime initiatives.
On Tuesday, Aldo Brown, president of the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce proposed a three-pronged plan that includes the installation of surveillance cameras in May Pen, implementing social programmes throughout Clarendon, and decreasing the high rotation rate of key cops. The proposal comes in the wake of the shooting deaths of a man and his wife. The number of persons murdered in Clarendon since the start of 2005 stands at 61. (Guyana Cronicle)
12 september 2005
Douglas gets new lawyer
Raphael Christopher Douglas
Raphael Christopher Douglas, of 139 Annette Street, Cunupia, was arrested on a provisional warrant earlier this year, when members of the Counter Drug Task Force nabbed him in an anti-crime operation.
Douglas, also known as Raffel Christopher Douglas, Christopher Douglas and Chris, is accused of conspiracy to traffic 184 kilos of cocaine. Attorney David West, head of the Central Authority in the Office of the Attorney General, is representing the State.
When the matter was called on Friday morning in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrate's Court, Douglas told Mc Nicolls that his attorney informed him that he was now unavailable to represent him. Douglas said he therefore needed time to seek counsel elsewhere as he was in no position to represent himself.
However, West told the court this was just a delaying tactic and the State was ready to proceed. Mc Nicolls then stood down the matter for a few minutes, following which attorney Cecil Pope was assigned as Douglas' new legal representative. Two witnesses-Cpl Michael Valasquez of the Counter Drug Crime Task Force and Cheryl Blackman, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Attorney General-gave evidence.
Blackman is responsible for custody and control of documents received by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in relation to extradition matters. One of the charges against Douglas read that during the period January 1999 to May 27 did knowingly and intentionally conspire with Frederick Hawkesworth, Terrence Sugrim, John Wayne Scantlebury and Sean Gaskin and persons unknown to traffic by importation, cocaine. The matter was adjourned to tomorrow. (Stabroek News)
10 september 2005
Surinamese police officer killed in ambush
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: A police officer on Wednesday was killed in an ambush by Brazilian criminals in Brokopondo, some 100 kilometers south of the Surinamese capital Paramaribo. Another officer was seriously wounded and admitted to hospital.
Dead is police officer Bartho Karwafodi (30) who was investigating the robbery of 4 kilos of gold in the area with colleague, Theo Stedenburg, and another officer. After they concluded their inquiries, the officers were on their way to the station when they got word that an armed robbery was in progress at a nearby camp.
It is alleged that a group of armed Brazilians were holding a woman hostage while robbing the camp of food and other items. In responding to that information the police officers went back into the area and were ambushed by at least two Brazilians armed with a shotgun and an automatic assault weapon.
Officer Stedenburg sustained gunshots to his chest, hand and foot. Karwafodi was shot in the back and fled to the surrounding woods to take cover. The shootout with the assailants lasted for about ten minutes and the criminals ultimately fled the scene.
Karwafodi’s dead body was found Thursday evening by police and army troops which were sent to the area after the attackers. Police Information Service has advised that the reinforcements will stay in the area and, with help of the national Army police, are trying to curb the recent crime wave in Brokopondo and other parts of the interior of Suriname.
The past week more and more armed robberies were committed by Brazilian criminals. Because of lack of transportation and other necessary equipment by police, it is literally a wild west in the interior where small scale gold mining is flourishing.
Along with the thousands Brazilian gold diggers, called garimpeiros, have come criminals from Brazil, who are targeting not only their fellow countrymen but also other individuals doing business in the interior. Recently there was a spate of holdups of buses carrying people coming from the goldfields.
The newly appointed justice minister, Chandrikapersad Santhoki, warned that the lawlessness must stop. He pledged to send more troops to areas where police activity is minimal. Santhoki, a former police commissioner, stated Thursday that “an appropriate answer would follow to restore law and order”. (Ivan Cairo/Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)
7 september 2005
Cop accused of helping two prisoners escape -placed on $30,000 bail
Joshua Mentore pleaded not guilty to two counts of permitting a prisoner to escape and he was subsequently granted $30,000 bail by Magistrate Bertlyn Reynolds.
It is alleged that on August 30, Mentore permitted Nigel Kissoon who was on remand to escape from the outpost. Mentore was also accused of permitting another remand prisoner Michael Taylor to escape from custody.
Stabroek News understands that at the time of his escape Kissoon was facing charges for robbery under arms, wrongful constraint for ransom; rape and buggery.
Taylor was also charged at for robbery under arms, wrongful confinement for ransom; rape and buggery. They were due to make their second appearance in court when they escaped. Mentore has to return to court on September 20.
Police Public Relations Officer John Sauers told Stabroek News yesterday that the two men are still at large. Sauers stated that the two men might be armed and must be considered extremely dangerous.
Police say that anyone with information which may help in the arrest of the fugitives is asked to contact the police on the following numbers: 226-1333, 225-2722, 440-2222, 444-3512, 444-3274, 444-3351 or any police station. (Stabroek News)
Police step up patrols in Georgetown
Increased mobile and foot patrols by ranks of the Guyana Police Force in and around the City, are netting results, with Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene reporting that there has been a decrease in crimes over the past week.
Speaking at the signing of the “Computer Based Law Enforcement Programme Monday at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Greene noted that since the recent robbery on the Stabroek News, there have not been any ‘significant attacks’ on business entities. He attributes this to several interventions involving the private sector.
Over the past months, officials of the Home Affairs Ministry, the Police Force and Private Sector officials have been holding regular meetings to come up with solutions to deal with the criminal activities directed mostly at businesses. Some of the matters discussed included the establishment of police presence in certain sections of Georgetown; police response to reports of serious crime; monitoring the congestion around the Stabroek Market; strategic deployment of patrols and sharing of information among members of the business community.
Additionally, the Force’s Public Relations Office (PRO) has embarked on an awareness campaign to alert members of the public to ways to prevent crime. The importance of cooperation from the public is also recognised by Greene. “We are thankful for such assistance given by the general public and I think they have recognised that everyone needs to join in the fight against crime.”
The Government, recognising that security is of paramount importance, this year initiated a number of activities to address the rise in crime.
In June, Government launched a comprehensive five-year master plan that seeks to address a number of areas for crime fighting. Huge sums have also been allocated to purchase crime-fighting vehicles and Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs signed an agreement for the ‘Computer Based Law Enforcement programme’ to strengthen aspects of the security sector and to enable security-related personnel to carry out their duties in an efficient manner. (Guyana Cronicle)
5 september 2005
Two charged over stolen engines
- after Surinamese boat owners travel to Guyana
According to the particulars of the case, the men had the engines in their possession on August 16 at Rosignol when they were arrested by the police. The arrests came in the wake of yet another attack by pirates on the Corentyne River two weeks ago. On August 15, three armed men robbed three fishing vessels owned by Surinamese of their engines and a quantity of 'glue' (the intestines of Snapper are referred to as 'glue'; it is sold at $2,600 per pound). A Guyanese-owned fishing boat was also robbed of its gas tanks and a quantity of 'glue'. 'Glue', this newspaper learned, is always in high demand. It is sold separately from the fish and most of it is exported.
According to reports, the Surinamese owners of the three boats travelled to Guyana after learning of the arrests and identified the three engines seized by the police as theirs. A third man who was held by the police claimed that the engines belonged to him and said he would produce evidence to support his claim. The man never returned and is suspected to have fled to neighbouring Suriname.
One of the victims, a member of the Number 66 Inshore Fish Port Complex, told this newspaper that the boat used in this most recent attack was the same boat used on July 12 and 14 last to rob Guyanese fishermen of some ten engines, gasoline and 'glue' in the Corentyne river. According to the fisherman, the three pirates were among those who perpetrated the July attacks. And according to Manager of the complex Premchand Ramgobin, "we have information which we have passed on to the police that among the pirates are members of another fishing enterprise."
Earlier this month the police found a shotgun and ammunition at Rosignol, in a boat which had reportedly just returned from Suriname.
The July attacks had sparked a major demonstration on July 15, by fishermen and their families who blocked the Number 66 bridge for several hours disrupting the flow of traffic to and from New Amsterdam. According to the victims, their losses were in the vicinity of several million dollars. Later in the day Regional Chairman Kumkarran Ramdass and Minister of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, Satyadeow Sawh met the fishermen to discuss the situation.
Meanwhile, according to Ramgobin, the complex is still awaiting word from the government in relation to its representation to the Surinamese government with regard to licences for them to fish in the Corentyne River. Some fishermen have been successful in obtaining "counterpart" licences from Surinamese at a very high cost but others have been unable to do so. The latter are forced to take chances on the river by fishing illegally risking being caught by the Surinamese Coast Guard.
Hundreds of fishermen, their families and thousands of others depend on fishing for a livelihood along the Corentyne Coast. However for several years now that livelihood has been in jeopardy because of persistent attacks from pirates. The inability of local fishermen to use the Corentyne river unimpeded and the absence of any form of protection for them continue to be key bilateral issues for the government to resolve as both countries await the outcome of arbitration under the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Guyana moved to the United Nations last year after Suriname evicted an oil rig from Guyana's territorial waters in 2000. (Stabroek News/Daniel Da Costa)
1 september 2005
Working on security measures to be effected shortly
THE spiralling crime rate in the capital city led to an emergency meeting between the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force. The two security forces met to come up with security measures to be effected shortly.
The Chairman of the Joint Services Coordinating Council, Brigadier General Edward Collins summoned the meeting to discuss the recent upsurge in criminal activities in the city and the shooting in Buxton Friday evening by unknown assailants. The meeting was held at the Joint Operations Centre, Eve Leary, and senior police officers provided in-depth analysis of the crime situation and identified the shift in the modus-operandi among criminal elements.
The Police also outlined the various strategies put in place to combat crime and the success those measures have yielded to date. These included the arrests of wanted criminals and the recovery of firearms.
The Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Greene, noted that the clinical precision with which criminals are able to relieve businesses of cash and intimated that there is seemingly complicity between bandits and some employees. The relative ease with which persons arrested for serious crimes were granted bail was also a source of concern.
He strongly urged business owners to contemplate irregular cash transactions and exercise greater vigilance as preventative security precautions. Addressing the shooting at Buxton on Friday, Mr. Greene indicated that every effort will be made to bring the perpetrator of that act to justice.
The Acting Commissioner of Police further stated that in an effort to provide additional human resources for the fight against crime, office staff has been reduced to strengthen mobile patrols. The Chairman congratulated the Police on the strident efforts being made to successfully fight crime and expressed confidence in their ability to deal with the situation. He also recommitted the Army’s support for the Police Force. (Guyana Cronicle)