2006-10-nieuwsbronnen-engels

Twenty-nine of the forty-five vehicles the Government donated to the Police Force on the tarmac of Police headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, yesterday

The Police Force has received 45 spanking new vehicles, worth some $108M, from the Government to boost its fleet.

They were formally handed over by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to Police Commissioner Henry Greene at a brief ceremony yesterday on the tarmac of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) square at force headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown.

Mr Rohee said the vehicles will strengthen the capacity of the Police Force to respond quickly and efficiently to activities within its mandate and scope. He also said the vehicles are aimed at making late Police responses something of the past and making rapid responses something of the present and future.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee checking out one of the new vehicles for the Police Force, as Police Commissioner Henry Greene, centre, looks on

Rohee also called on the Police Force to ensure there is preventative maintenance of these vehicles so that they are always roadworthy and effectively and efficiently utilized.

In accepting what he termed a “great gift”, Commissioner Greene thanked Rohee and the Government for the gesture and assured that the vehicles will be efficiently and effectively used by the force in carrying out its mandate of service and protection to all.

Only 29 of the 45 vehicles provided by the Government were on display yesterday. “As you know, we are a very busy force and several of the Double-Cabs (pick-ups) and also the two Land Rovers are already in use and that is the reason why they were not made available here today,” Greene explained.

Thanking the Home Affairs Minister and reiterating his assurances that these vehicles will be put to good use, Greene alluded to the packed programme of activities over the coming months, including the year-end Christmas season patrols which will commence in two weeks and continue into the new year, Mashramani, the Rio Summit to be held here next February and the major Cricket World Cup 2007 event.

“There will be quite a lot of dignitaries and quite a lot of use and work for these vehicles,” Greene said, noting that some will be used as escorts wherever needed.

SEIZED VEHICLES

The motor boat and two vehicles lodged in the compound of Police headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown yesterday

According to him, the boat and the canter truck were found on the East Bank Demerara and there are questions to be answered about the ownership of the vehicle and boat.

The canter truck had a ‘Dreamworks’ sign on the door, the company owned by embattled Guyanese businessman Roger Khan who is under tight security in the United States facing charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics into that country.

Greene said since the boat and the truck were seized, no one has come forward to claim them. He also noted no one has come forward to claim the 4x4 vehicle found on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway. Greene said the Police have the name and address of the alleged owner of the 4x4 vehicle but have been unable to track him down.

Asked what the force can or will do with these vehicles and many more that it has seized, the Commissioner noted that there are “several options”, including disposing of them. He noted that Section 69 of the Police Act gives the Police the option to dispose of any vehicles in its possession for which the ownership is not clear or which is unclaimed.

“Those that would fall under the Guyana Revenue Authority would be those that are not registered and those vehicles that their duties have not been paid,” Greene said, adding that some of those at CID headquarters would be vehicles for which duties have been paid, but the appropriate taxes in terms of consumption and purchase taxes were not paid and therefore those vehicles were not registered.

He noted that in many instances, the matters were referred to the GRA which in turn has asked the Police Force to detain the vehicles. The owners are then notified of what has to be paid and once that is done, they can proceed to uplift their vehicles, he explained. (Guyana Cronicle/Winston Oudkerk photo)

AK-47 gang victim dies

The woman who was shot when more than a dozen masked men attacked residents at Mon Desir, Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara, last Tuesday night died yesterday, her relatives said.

Dead is Kowsilla Mahadeo, 56, of Mon Desir. Relatives said she succumbed before noon yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where she was in the Intensive Care Unit. She was shot in the chest, thigh and ankle when the gunmen attacked her family.

Her husband, Jagoonauth Mahadeo, 60, was shot on his left arm and their son, Churman Mahadeo, 29, a taxi driver, was struck several blows. The father said Churman returned home about 22:00 h and, after driving his car into the yard, was about to lock the gate when he was confronted by the attackers.

Shots were fired at the car and he was taken to the house and told to tell his mother, who was asleep in the bottom flat, to open the door for Police.

But she did not obey the command after Churman screamed and she realised they were under attack. The gunmen kicked open the door, beat the husband and shot his wife while their son’s four-year-old daughter and his wife, Sunita Lakraj, 30, watched in horror. The robbers ransacked the premises and stole money and jewellery in the 30 minutes they terrorized the family.

Other families were also terrorized in the gunmen’s rampage. Guns used by the gang, have been tied to the assassination of Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh in April this year, Police reported.

The AK-47 rifle found strapped to the body of one of the men, who was found dead in a canal Thursday morning, was one of the 30 reported missing from the Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown headquarters of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) earlier this year, Police reported.

The links between the gang which killed Minister Sawh, two of his siblings and a security guard, and the gang came from ballistics tests on shells found after the Tuesday night attack, Police said.

Stolen diamonds found in suspect’s crotch

Police have recovered most of the diamonds stolen in last Friday’s brazen multi-million-dollar heist at a mining camp in the remote Oranapai area in Mazaruni, Police Commissioner Henry Greene said yesterday. He told reporters more than 92 carats of diamonds of the 120 carats stolen were found in the crotch of one of the three suspects arrested.

According to Mr Greene, the diamonds were found in the man’s crotch when the lorry they were in a day after the robbery was intercepted by a mobile police patrol at Red Hill Bay, Mazaruni. The lorry was stopped around 16:00 h Saturday and Police arrested the driver and the two men who were lying in the tray and who have since been positively identified as those who carried out the horrifying attack, the Commissioner said.

They allegedly robbed dredge owner Joana Palda Da Silva Robeira, 47, of 120 carats of diamonds and gold jewellery; Joao Bispo Duarte, 46, of raw gold, a cellular phone and $15,000; and Antonio Cruiz D’Olliviera, 25, of gold jewellery.

The robbery was committed about 11:00h last Friday by two men, one of them armed with a gun. The men emerged from the bushes, held up an ATV motorcycle on which the miners were heading to the landing, tied them up and robbed them.

According to Police, when arrested, the men had a .38 Rossi special revolver with six live matching rounds, quantities of raw gold, jewellery and cash. “Two of the men have so far been positively identified and charges are likely to be made (today),” Greene said. The Police Commissioner also dismissed suggestions that the robbery was linked to previous robbery attacks on miners in the same area.

“These men were opportunists,” he said. Greene also emphasized the need for “some level of control of persons going into the interior”. “Persons must go there with the relevant documentation which is given by the persons from GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission) and once that is maintained, then I think you will have less idlers and less persons who are not supposed to be there,” the Police Commissioner contended. According to him, many persons go to the mining areas looking for jobs but with ulterior motives. (Guyana Cronicle)

October 30, 2006

Interior bandits brandishing a machete and a revolver robbed three Brazilian miners of raw gold, jewellery and 120 carats of diamonds on Friday morning at Oranapai, Mazaruni. Police, however, responded the next day, arrested three men and recovered some of the stolen minerals and as well as cash.

Armed robberies continue to plague the mining community and miners have complained frequently about security in the interior. A number of miners have also lost their lives during skirmishes with bandits. The police had set up security checkpoints at certain areas in the interior three years ago, but these have failed to repel the criminals who continue to attack with impunity. There have already been a number of armed robberies on miners for the year so far.

Police in a statement yesterday said that about 11 am on Friday two men, one of whom was armed with a gun robbed the three miners. According to the police statement the suspects emerged from the bushes in the Region Seven mining area and held up an ATV carrying the miners to the landing. The bandits proceeded to bind and rob the miners.

Among the victims were dredge owner, Joana Palda Da Silva Robeira, age 47 years. He was robbed of 120 carats of diamonds and gold jewellery. Joao Bispo Duarte, age 46, was robbed of a quantity of raw gold, one cellular phone and $15, 000 cash and Antonio Cruiz D' Oliveira, age 25, was robbed of gold jewellery. Police said that the suspects then chopped the wheels of the men's All Terrain Vehicle and took flight.

Following up on investigations, ranks at Red Hill Bay, Mazaruni, around 4 pm on Saturday intercepted a truck GJJ 9784. Along with the driver, two males were found lying in the tray of the truck. They were identified as the suspects in the robbery and had in their possession one .38 Rossi special revolver with six live matching rounds, a quantity of raw gold, jewellery and cash. Police say all three persons were arrested and are in police custody Investigations are continuing and charges will be laid shortly, the police statement said.

Late last year ten heavily armed bandits carted off over $50M in a spine-tingling robbery at Barlow Landing, Mazaruni River. It was reported that the gang, armed with rifles and hand grenades, ambushed and robbed fourteen miners and diamond buyers, mainly Brazilians. They stole cash, diamonds and jewellery.

The armed bandits on that day arrived at the landing in a boat pretending to be police. They held the individuals there at gunpoint while robbing them of some $50M, diamonds, jewellery, a .32 pistol and two drums of fuel. During their escape the men discharged several rounds as they passed the Oranapai, Mazaruni area.

Police ranks had responded to the shooting and confronted the men at Eping Creek Mouth. There was an exchange of gunfire but the suspects secured another boat and managed to get away. The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) had established a working relationship with the police to help protect miners, but despite a security presence at some of the mining areas attacks on miners have continued. At the association's Annual General Meeting on August 21 this year the issue of crime and security featured prominently for discussion.

Vice-President of the association, Norman McLean had told the gathering that crime affected the lives of all miners and their families. He also reminded them of onslaughts by the gunmen in the interior, pointing to the robbery at Barlow Landing. McLean noted that the police could not be everywhere at the same time, and as such it was prudent for miners to help themselves.

Stabroek News was told that several meetings were held between the former Guyana Geology and Mines Commission head, Robeson Benn and President Bharrat Jagdeo to discuss the possibility of miners being made special constables in order to better protect themselves. McLean had mentioned at the AGM that there was some hesitancy on the part of members of the association where this was concerned. (Stabroek News)

AK-47 gang link to Sash Sawh assassination

Drowned bandit had GDF AK-47

Guns used in the Tuesday night robbery attack on a West Demerara farming village by a gang armed with AK-47 assault rifles, were also used in the shock assassination of Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh in April this year, Police said yesterday.

And the AK-47 rifle found strapped to the body of one of the Tuesday night bandits who drowned while trying to escape, was one of the 30 reported missing from the Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown headquarters of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) earlier this year, Police reported.

The links between the gang which killed Minister Sawh, two of his siblings and a security guard, and the Tuesday night band that terrified villagers at Mon Desir, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, came from ballistics tests on shells found after the Tuesday night attack, Police said.

Police said that of the thirty six 7.62 x 39 and three 7.62 x 51 spent shells found at the robbery scene at Mon Desir, three 7.62 x 51 matched two 7.62 x 51 casings found at the home of Sawh after the April 22 slayings. Nine of the spent 7.62 x 39 shells found at Mon Desir were fired from the same AK-47 found strapped to the body of the drowned bandit, Police said.

While his identity remained unknown up to late yesterday, this finding definitely linked the dreadlocked man to the gang that went on a rampage at Mon Desir, shooting three persons, including a woman who was critically wounded. Contrary to a report in another newspaper yesterday, the man whose body was found floating in a canal Thursday morning, was not shot, but died from drowning, Police said.

A post mortem yesterday, Police said, showed the cause of death was drowning, compounded by blunt trauma to the head, which sources said could have been caused by a fall as the man tried to escape after the robbery attack. The ballistics tests also show that the Tuesday night AK-47 gang may be the one once based at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, which Police had previously linked to the Sawh assassination.

The Police in July announced they were seeking the assistance of the public and offering a $2M reward each, for the capture of 10 men they want for questioning into the assassination of Sawh. Most of the wanted are members of a feared gang with links in Agricola, including its reputed leader Rondell Rawlins, widely known as `Fineman’, of Titus Street, Agricola and Buxton.

Others wanted for questioning included Troy Dick of Buxton (now dead); Orlando Andrews called “Biscuit” or “Jeffrey” of Buxton; David Zammett called David Leander or “Bullet” of Buxton; Jermaine Charles called “Skinny” of Agricola (since arrested) and Richard Daniels called “Chucky” of Agricola.

The gruesome gunning down of Minister Sawh and two of his siblings - brother Rajpat Rai, sister Pulmatie Persaud - both Canadian citizens, along with security guard Curtis Robertson at his 61-62 Earl’s Court, La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara, home, was reportedly carried out by armed men who Police said were masked and wore camouflage clothing.

The Tuesday night bandit, whose body was found in a canal at Resource, was dressed in black military-type clothes and was one of the gang of about 15 men who stormed the nearby village of Mon Desir, shooting, beating and robbing terrified members of two families, and escaping with cash and jewellery.

Residents said the bandits were masked, wore dark clothing and carried high-powered AK-47 rifles. They believe the man found floating in the canal at Resource drowned after he became entangled in thick weeds in the waterway while trying to escape Tuesday night, and could not free himself because of the heavy gun and ammunition and military-type boots he was wearing.

Resource residents said they heard a man screaming for help after the robbery attack at Mon Desir, about a mile away, but no one bothered to venture outside to help. The corpse that floated up in the canal on Thursday morning was beginning to swell when residents in the farming community spotted it at about 07:00 h.

The discovery of the dead bandit drew a huge crowd from the area and there was some relief that at least one of the AK-47 terror gang had met a fitting end.

The AK-47 assault rifle he was carrying had two magazines with more than 30 live rounds and a haversack was found not far from the body. The man was also carrying a black bag which contained a few pieces of dark clothing, a bottle of deodorant, a toothbrush, a new testament and a hammock.

Not far from where the bandit’s body was found, Police also recovered several pieces of dark clothing and a brand new pair of military boots covered in mud, in a recently dug drain and searched an abandoned house nearby but found nothing.

The AK-47 gang Tuesday night attacked two families at Mon Desir, shot two members of the Mahadeo family, took away an undisclosed amount of money and jewels and riddled a car belonging to them. The gang then went over to the Garbarran family nearby and gun-butted three of the six members before they shot up a Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) vehicle.

The heavily-armed bandits then ordered three men to lie on the road after they took away their Chinese food which they had bought not long before and riddled a businessman’s home with bullets. That businessman, a licensed firearm holder, traded bullets with the gang. He said he suspected that they had intended to rob his family too and woke up when the bandits discharged a volley of bullets on the GUYSUCO vehicle which was at the time heading to pick up an employee shortly after 22:30 h. The driver escaped unhurt and the vehicle is lodged with the police.

Kowsilla Mahadeo, 56, who was shot in the Tuesday night attack, was reported in stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation up to press time.

She was shot in the chest, thigh and ankle, after the bandits ordered her to lie on the floor of her home.
Her husband, Jagoonauth Mahadeo, 60, was shot in the left arm. (Guyana Cronicle)

Police retrieving several pieces of dark clothing and a pair of military-type boots from a drain at Resource, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara yesterday.

Police believe he was one of the gang of about 15 men who Tuesday night stormed the nearby village of Mundesir, shooting, beating and robbing terrified members of two families, and escaping with cash and jewellery.

Residents said the bandits were masked, wore dark clothing and carried high-powered AK-47 rifles.

They believe the man found floating in the canal at Resource drowned after he became entangled in thick weeds in the waterway while trying to escape Tuesday night, and could not free himself because of the heavy gun and ammunition and military-type boots he was wearing.

Resource residents said they heard a man screaming for help after the robbery attack at Mundesir, about a mile away, but no one bothered to venture outside to help.

The corpse that floated up in the canal yesterday was beginning to swell when residents in the farming community spotted it at about 07:00 h and Police said the man had not been identified up to press time.

The discovery of the dead bandit drew a huge crowd from the area and there was some relief that at least one of the AK-47 terror gang had met a fitting end.

The AK-47 rifle he was carrying had two magazines with more than 30 live rounds and a haversack was found not far from the body. The man was also carrying a black bag which contained a few pieces of dark clothing, a bottle of deodorant, a toothbrush, a testament and a hammock.

Not far from where the bandit’s body was found, Police also recovered several pieces of dark clothing and a brand new pair of military boots covered in mud, in a recently dug drain.

After midday yesterday, too, a team of Policemen revisited the area and found a black purse with jewellery, sources said.

The AK-47 gang Tuesday night attacked two families at Mundesir, shot two members of the Mahadeo family, took away an undisclosed amount of money and jewels and riddled a car belonging to them. The gang then went over to the Garbarran family nearby and gun-butted three of the six members before they shot up a Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) vehicle.

the AK-47 rifle, ammunition and other items found with the dead bandit yesterday. (Photo, courtesy Guyana Police Force)

The heavily-armed bandits then ordered three men to lie on the road after they took away their Chinese food which they had bought not long before and riddled a businessman’s home with bullets.

He said he suspected that they had intended to rob his family too and woke up when the bandits discharged a volley of bullets on the GUYSUCO vehicle which was at the time heading to pick up an employee shortly after 22:30 h. The driver escaped unhurt and the vehicle is lodged with the police.

The Police recovered about a bucket of spent shells from the scene Wednesday morning. Kowsilla Mahadeo, 56, who was shot in the Tuesday night attack, was reported in stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation up to press time.

She was shot in the chest, thigh and ankle, after the bandits ordered her to lie on the floor of her home. Her husband, Jagoonauth Mahadeo, 60, was shot in the left arm. (Guyana Cronicle/Michel Outridge/Delano Williams photos)

A gang of about 15 masked men, armed with AK-47 rifles, shot, beat and robbed terrorised residents of Mundesir, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, during a one-hour rampage Tuesday night.

In the attack, Kowsilla Mahadeo, 56, of Lot 1 Mundesir, was shot and was in critical condition yesterday in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Relatives said she was shot in the chest, thigh and ankle.

Her husband, Jagoonauth Mahadeo, 60, was shot on his left arm and their son, Churman Mahadeo, 29, a taxi driver, was struck several blows.

The father said Churman returned home about 22:00 h and, after driving his car into the yard, was about to lock the gate when he was confronted by the attackers.

WOUNDED: Jagoonauth Mahadeo

Shots were fired at the car and he was taken to the house and told to tell his mother, who was asleep in the bottom flat, to open the door for Police.

But she did not obey the command after Churman screamed and she realised they were under attack.

The gunmen kicked open the door, beat the husband and shot his wife while their son’s four-year-old daughter and his wife, Sunita Lakraj, 30, watched in horror.

The robbers ransacked the premises and stole money and jewellery.

Jagoonauth Mahadeo said the assailants spent about half an hour at his home.

“When I came downstairs, they had already shot my wife near the doorway and I was standing by the wall when I was hit, too. We did not even get a chance to beg,” he said.

The bandits escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, jewellery and cellular phones from his household and Mahadeo said it was the first time they had been robbed since they started a small grocery business ten years ago.

During the ransacking that followed, Garbarran said his parents, the older Garbarran, 49 and his wife, Kissandai Garbarran, 43, were beaten by the bandits.

Toolsie Garbarran and his injured parents sought medical attention yesterday for wounds on their heads and faces.

A security guard at New Anglet Nursery School, not far from where the Mahadeos live, said a bullet also grazed him.

Continuing their violent march through the village, the bandits fired at a Guyana Sugar Corporation vehicle on the main road but the driver was unhurt.

Then they held three more men at gunpoint on the road and relieved them of Chinese food they were eating.

The three victims jumped into a nearby trench to avoid an exchange of gunfire between the gang and a licensed firearm holder.

The resident said he lay face down on a zinc shed near the verandah of his two-flat house and fired at the bandits to protect his family.

The man, who said his place was robbed six years ago, said his house was shot at and family members were terrified by the attack. Police were in the village yesterday with tracker dogs and taking statements from the victims. (Guyana Cronicle)Michel Outridge)

October 25, 2006

A man in the interior who allegedly had a quantity of cannabis, cocaine and a revolver with ammunition in his possession was yesterday refused bail by Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan at the Georgetown Magistrate's Court.

Winston Fraser, 52, of Number 30 Village, West Coast Berbice, pleaded not guilty to two charges of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and two unlawful possession charges.

It is alleged that on September 16 at Tiger Creek, Puruni he had 25 ¾ grammes of cannabis and 7 ½ grammes of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. He also had one .38 revolver and seven rounds of ammunition in his possession without being the holder of a firearm licence.

Attorney at law Vic Puran who appeared for Fraser told the court that his client was retained a week ago and has made serious allegations against the police where he said the police involved in this matter would go to his shop and eat and drink out everything.

He stated that his client's house is 15 miles from anywhere else and that the police went to his shop on September 15 and did the same and his client watched from the bushes. When word, he said, got out that his client was headed to Georgetown they came up with the allegations against his client.

He asked the court that an order be made for his client to be interviewed by the Office of Professional Responsibility. The prosecutor in that matter responded by saying the police in Bartica had nothing to hide. Fraser's case was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate's court for November 1. (Stabroek News)

October 24, 2006

Cops did not shoot boy

SHOT UP: the Police vehicle hit by bullets in the Saturday night shootout. (Photo, courtesy Police Headquarters)

Pellets from a shotgun, which did not belong to any Policeman, are what hit the 12-year-old boy in Agricola, East Bank Demerara Saturday night, when wanted man Anthony Heywood was killed in a confrontation with Police, the authorities said yesterday.

According to Police headquarters, the boy, Derwin Young, was hit during the crossfire by pellets from a shotgun. The Police said no officer had a shotgun during the armed confrontation.

Further investigations revealed that the 12-gauge shotgun found on Heywood, called “John Kirby”, is that of the husband of Lavern Garraway Scott, who was murdered by gunmen in Agricola on February 26, 2006. The Police said the woman’s husband is a licensed firearm holder.

“Kirby”, 24, of Second Street, Agricola was shot and killed by police, after they came under gunfire when responding to a report. The Police report said several shots struck the driver’s side of their vehicle, resulting in damage to the body of the vehicle and the windscreen, as the ranks took cover and returned fire.

It was during this confrontation that Heywood sustained gunshot injuries and died before receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Police said. The others with Kirby fled the scene while continuing to shoot at the ranks, Police said.

GUN FOUND: the shotgun and other items found with Anthony `John Kirby’ Heywood. (Photo, courtesy Police headquarters)

A Police release said a 12-gauge shotgun, one matching cartridge and a number of small parcels containing marijuana and wraps for the purpose of smoking were found at the scene.

Police said Heywood was wanted in connection with the assassination of former Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, Satyadeow Sawh, who was brutally gunned down on April 22, 2006, at his home. The minister’s brother Rajpat Sawh, 62, his sister Phulmattie Pesaud, 54, and security guard Curtis Robinson, 38, were also fatally wounded.

Heywood was also wanted in connection with the murder of the three MMC security guards, constables Semple, Dummett and Smartt, on February 26 last at the Two Brothers Petrol Station, Eccles, the murder of 12-year Kevin Browne at Agricola on March 18, 2006, and the murders of the five Kaieteur News pressmen on August 8, 2006.

He was also wanted in connection with several other criminal offences, including robbery under arms, Police said. (Guyana Cronicle)

Police have linked the now dead Anthony Heywood called 'John Kirby' to thirteen murders including those of Agriculture Minister, Satyadeow Sawh and his siblings, and the five pressmen at Kaieteur News.

The police said, too, that there were other killings linked to the 24-year-old but they did not identify them. Heywood of Second Street, Agricola was shot dead by police on Saturday evening after he and two others allegedly shot at a police vehicle that was responding to a robbery in the area.

Residents told Stabroek News yesterday that Heywood's death came as no surprise to villagers who knew him as he was notorious in the community for riding around with a gun slung around his back. Police in a statement yesterday said that around 6:30 pm on Saturday Heywood was fatally shot by the police at Agricola, East Bank Demerara.

According to the police statement, ranks on a mobile patrol concentrating in the Mc Doom area were responding to a report at Fourth Street, Agricola. When at Third and Brutus streets, they came under concentrated gunfire from three men who were all armed with guns and standing on the southern side of the road next to a Chappy motorcycle.

The police statement said several shots struck the driver's side of the vehicle resulting in damage to its frame and windscreen. During this period ranks took cover and returned fire. It was during this confrontation that Heywood sustained gunshot injuries and died before receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the police statement added. It stated that the other suspects fled the scene while continuing to shoot at the police ranks.

One 12-gauge shotgun, one matching cartridge and a number of small parcels containing marijuana and wraps for the purpose of smoking were found at the scene. The police statement said Heywood was wanted for the murders of Sawh, his siblings, Phulmattie Persaud and Rajpat Sawh, as well as Sawh's security guard, Curtis Robertson. An earlier statement which had been issued by the police on Kirby did not link him specifically to Sawh's murder.

Sawh was gunned down in his Earl's Court, La Bonne Intention home on the morning of April 22. A gang of seven men dressed in military fatigues carried out the attack using AK-47 rifles. Police had linked the killing to the Buxton criminal gang of which Heywood was said to have been a part, although he was based in Agricola.

Heywood, the police said too, was wanted for the murders of MMC security guard, Sheldon Smartt, Loris Semple and Cedric Dummett. The guards were slain on the night of February 28. Their deaths came on the same night when five other persons were murdered in Agricola during a bloody assault, which saw around 25 gunmen blocking off traffic. Police had also said that the Buxton-based criminal gang carried out those attacks.

Two weeks later, 12-year-old, Kevin Browne of Mc Doom was shot dead in his house. Police said Heywood was among the gunmen who carried out that murder. He was also wanted for the deaths of Kaieteur News pressmen, Mark Maikoo, Chetram Persaud, Shazim Mohamed, Eion Wegman and Richard Stewart.

The pressmen were killed on the night of August 7 at the Kaieteur News printery located at the Eccles Industrial Site. Police said there were other killings linked to Heywood as well as several other criminal offences including robbery under arms.

Meanwhile, the police said in their statement that Derwin Young, 12, of Fourth Street, Agricola, who was standing on the northern side of Brutus Street, sustained gunshot injuries in the incident on Saturday night. However, the police statement said that the circumstances under which the 12-year-old was shot have not yet been ascertained. Young has since undergone surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. He is listed as stable. The Chappy motorcycle, which bore no number plates, is in police custody.

On July 14 this year police had published wanted bulletins for ten men including Heywood in connection with Sawh and his siblings' murders. A resident of Agricola told Stabroek News yesterday that Heywood was part of a small group of men who roamed the village day and night. The resident said that Heywood was often seen riding his motorcycle or at times a bicycle in the village. He was never without a gun strung around his neck, the resident said.

Stabroek News was told that Heywood was well known in the community and also by members of the Police Force. "He was a boy who used to deh around and everybody knows him," the resident disclosed. To the resident, Heywood and his accomplices were more into robbery than execution-style killings.

Stabroek News was told that Heywood had several homes in Agricola and whenever the heat was on he used to stay outside of the village. One resident said that despite the fact that police were looking for him, Heywood was often seen playing football and cricket on an empty lot in front of the village.

Heywood is one of the many youths from the village of Agricola who were reportedly recruited by more hardened criminals into criminal gangs. Recently the police arrested and have since charged another youth, a 13-year-old boy from Agricola for the murder of Bagotstown businessman, Wordsworth Grey.

Grey was killed on the same night as the five pressmen at Kaieteur News. During a drive through the village yesterday, residents were going about their business as usual. Stabroek News observed two police patrols in the community.

Agricola has been the scene of several brutal killings over the past two years. Beginning with the beheading of a known drug dealer, David Barrow, gunmen operating in that community have staged other brazen attacks. (Stabroek News)

Wanted Man shot dead in Agricola

POLICE early yesterday evening shot and killed wanted man John Anthony Haywood called `Kirby’ of First Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara. Eyewitnesses said that Haywood was riding a motor cycle in the village when he was cornered by the Police.

A 12-year-old boy was also reportedly shot. The child is hospitalised, the Chronicle understands. Last night, the village was quiet and the area where the shooting occurred was cordoned off. Up to press time, efforts to get the police on the shooting proved futile. (Guyana Cronicle)

Corentyne butcher gunned down

A young butcher of Lancaster Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was shot dead early yesterday morning. According to a Police press release, Vickey Bujit, 26, was shot in the head. Bujit was reportedly heading for the toilet in his yard at about 3:30 hrs yesterday when he was killed.

His wife said she heard three gunshots and when she went to investigate, she found Bujit lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Police said he died before receiving medical attention. (Guyana Cronicle)

Roger Khan further remanded

Justice Dora Lizzette Irririzary, presiding at the U.S. Eastern District Court on Tillary Street in downtown Brooklyn, yesterday granted a request, for additional time, from the prosecution in the “conspiring to import cocaine” case against Guyanese businessman Shaheed `Roger’ Khan.

As a result, Khan, 36, also known as `Short Man’, will have to remain on remand in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Brooklyn until December 6 at 10:30 h, the date set for his next court appearance and a status report. But a source in the U.S. with whom Robert Simmels, one of Khan’s two U.S.-based lawyers spoke, said he (Simmels) has hinted at filing a bail application on behalf of Khan soon.

According to the source, Simmels said that at yesterday’s hearing which was called at 1600 h, he had argued that materials which the prosecution hopes to use as evidence to fight their case were seized from Khan’s residence in Guyana.

Simmels briefly told the source too, that Trinidad attorney Odai Ramishchand, who is also on Khan’s defence team and looking into the Guyanese businessman’s interest in the twin-island republic, is scheduled to appear before a judge in a couple of days. The source, however, could not say specifically whether that appearance will be in Trinidad or in the U.S.

Khan was expelled from neighbouring Suriname on June 29 last where authorities there had arrested and detained him and 11 others, including three other Guyanese - Paul Rodrigues, Sean Belfield and Lloyd Robert – said to be his bodyguards. The arrest was made during an alleged huge drug bust on June 15, 2006 in Paramaribo, Suriname, when the Police in the former Dutch colony said they netted 213 kilos of cocaine.

While in detention in Suriname, Khan appeared in a Paramaribo Magistrate's court charged with being part of a criminal organisation, possession and trafficking of narcotics and possession of firearms. Those charges were, however, withdrawn to facilitate Khan's deportation from Suriname and subsequent apprehension by U.S. law enforcement officials in Trinidad which took place as soon as he left the Suriname Airways flight.

He was then flown to the U.S. to face the drug charge and made his first appearance less than 24 hours after arrival. His lawyers have contended that his removal from Trinidad amounts to kidnapping but U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said the arrest in that country was on the basis of an international arrest on an indictment by a New York Grand Jury in May this year for conspiracy to import cocaine.

The warrant which carried the Case Number 06CR 255 “commanded” the United States Marshall and/or any authorized United States Officer, “to arrest Shaheed Khan, also known as `Roger Khan' and `Short Man’ and bring him forthwith to the nearest magistrate to answer an indictment charging him with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.”

The warrant signed by Justice Roanne Mann on April 13, 2006, stated that the alleged offence was in violation of Title 21, U.S. Case section 963. Khan was arraigned at the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York on June 29. (Guyana Cronicle)

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Caribbean, South American, European countries and the US signed an agreement in Suriname on Friday to work closely together to combat drug trafficking through the Caribbean and dismantle trafficking organisations.

Twelve nations, including Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Great-Brittain and the US, signed the so-called ‘Paramaribo Declaration’ at the end of a two-day international anti-drugs conference.

Suriname justice minister, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, who hosted the meeting, said that months of hard work eventually paid off, with the declaration being adopted unanimously.

Amongst other things, the agreement is a framework to establish an intelligence sharing network, coordinate and execute sting operations and other actions simultaneously in several countries, while tackling money laundering. Forfeiture of assets gained from drug trade are also objectives in the agreement.

“The success of the conference started with the commitment of all the delegates and participants to come to Suriname despite all the travel difficulties and we had good and fruitful discussions on operational, technical and policy making levels,” said Santokhi.

During the meeting, Suriname was given the lead to set up a secretariat to monitor and oversee implementation of the agreement. Since the pact is a framework, officials of the participating countries will hold several meetings to draw up the necessary action plans how to realise the objectives.

Recognising Suriname’s success in identifying the ten largest criminal organisations in the country five years ago, with eight having already been dismantled, participants also agreed to a similar approach regionally. The ten largest drug trafficking organisations in the region will be identified and targeted.

US ambassador to Suriname, Lisa Bobbie Schreiber-Hughes, said she felt especially empowered by the commitment of all participants to the conference to tackle the drugs trade in the region, while Colombia’s representative, Alvaro Ayala, also stressed that his country is determined to eliminate cocaine production.

However, Ayala argued that Columbia can’t accomplish this enormous task on its own. Assistance from other countries is necessary. Especially countries that are producing and supplying cocaine producers with chemicals, he further added. (by Ivan Cairo/Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent)

The gun used in the year-old murder of Gangadeen Khedoo was yesterday found in the possession of a suspected robber who was shot during a confrontation with police. The suspect told Stabroek News a different version of events from his hospital bed yesterday.

According to a statement from the police, the .32 Taurus revolver licensed to Khedoo was retrieved from the suspected robber after he was shot at the Vendor's Mall, on Water Street. The shooting took place at 8:45 am.

Police officers had pursued the man to the mall on the report that he had committed a robbery. He is alleged to have drawn the gun on the policeman who gave chase and refused to drop the weapon when cautioned to do so. As a result, he was shot once in the upper thigh. Police said the man is currently under police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The Taurus revolver, along with three live rounds and a spent shell were retrieved from the man. Khedoo, a businessman of the New Diamond/Grove Housing Scheme, was killed with his own gun in April last year during a robbery at his home.

Two men, who were armed with cutlasses, carried out the attack. One of the men chopped Khedoo in the head, disarmed him, and then shot him. The murder has remained unsolved.

Anthony Primo, 20, of Laing Avenue, the man who was shot yesterday has, however, denied the robbery allegation, saying that he was shot mistakenly since the real robber ran away. Eyewitnesses however confirmed that Primo had attacked a man with a gun and relieved him of his gold chain. Primo is currently under police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital. He said ranks have since put to him that they found a pistol, which they said he threw away.

According to Primo the police have also told him that the weapon was used to kill a man at the New Diamond Housing Scheme. Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, the man said that he had asked his employer for time off to go and shop in downtown Georgetown yesterday morning when the incident occurred.

Primo said that he had around $1,000 in his pocket and was going in search of greens in the vicinity of the Vendors' Arcade on Water Street. He said around 8:30 am while walking he saw a man run past him. Primo said when he looked around, he saw a man on a motorcycle in hot pursuit.

He told Stabroek News that as the man ran past him, the one on the motorcycle fired a shot which hit him on the upper right thigh. Primo said he immediately collapsed on the ground. The man on the motorcycle, he said, continued to pursue the other man but apparently did not find him.

Primo said the motorcyclist returned later, looked at him and went away. He said he managed to limp onto the pavement and begged a woman to call a taxi for him, but no one paid him any heed.

Shortly after, a vanload of police pulled up at the scene, Primo said. He said one of the ranks kicked him in his stomach and started to accuse him of being a thief. He was then escorted to the hospital. Primo said the police have said that they found a weapon, which he threw away. "But I didn't have no gun. I want them to prove that my fingerprints deh on the weapon," Primo declared from his hospital bed.

Primo said that he is willing to prove that he is innocent. Meanwhile, one vendor in the arcade said that Primo was indeed the one who snatched the man's chain. The vendor said that it would appear that Primo was in the company of another man who ran away. (Stabroek News)

Lawyers for Roger Khan are incensed that Citizen's Bank has not yet disbursed a US$1.2M loan to Willems Timber and are preparing to take the bank to court for failing to honour its obligations - the Bank having committed in writing to lending the money. The money is to be used by Khan to pay the remainder of the debt for the purchase of Willems Timber. Khan is presently in the US facing drug trafficking charges.

Glenn Hanoman, one of the lawyers, told Stabroek News yesterday that long after Khan was named as a drug dealer by the United States Department of State, Citizen's Bank gave a commitment that it would have been lending the money to Willems Timber. The money would have been used to pay Khan's debt to Harry Rambarran who is based in Florida.

According to Hanoman, Khan's legal team is mulling their next move while still hoping to hear a positive word from the bank. He said that members of Khan's legal team could not get through to the bank nor would the bank return their phone calls.

Hanoman said that once he gets a clear word from the bank then he could take the case to the High Court. On October 3, 2006, Hanoman sent a letter to Allan Parris, Managing Director of Citizen's Bank. It reads, "I write on behalf of Willems Timber and Trading Company Limited. My clients and I have come to the conclusion from recent communications with your bank and the lack of responses to our letters, that you seek to renege on your commitment and agreement to lend the agreed sum of $240M to Willems Timber and Trading Company Limited.

"Please be informed that we have been instructed to retain lawyers to institute legal proceedings against your bank for specific performance of your agreement before the Commercial Court of the High Court.

"In the event that you do not reply in a meaningful way within seven days of your receipt of this letter, these proceedings would be instituted claiming, inter alia, all attendant losses, expenses and damages suffered by Willems Timber and Trading Company Limited as a result of your action/inaction." This letter was signed by Glenn Hanoman and carbon copied to all directors of the bank's Board. This newspaper's attempts to reach Parris yesterday were futile.

Hanoman said that Citizen's Bank on September 14, 2006 made Willems Timber sign a Promissory Note which stated that Willems Timber owed the Bank $240M, even though the money had not been handed over. Hanoman said that the Bank could legally sue Willems Timber for that money, since the company signed stating that it owed the Bank.

Giving a timeline of events, Hanoman said that on February 3, Willems Timber applied for the loan. He said that on February 27, the Bank prepared a letter of commitment which the company signed. "We had to pay a commitment fee of $1.2M, stamp duty of $240,000 and a processing fee of $1000.

On May 23 we went to Cameron and Shepherd to pay $3.5M in legal fees and to file debentures in the amount of $306M," he said. Hanoman stated also that the debentures were on June 9 advertised in the Official Gazette and on September 12, proof of all risk insurance covering the loan was submitted to the Bank.

Up to late September the Board of Directors of Citizen's Bank had been engaged in discussions with legal advisors trying to decide on whether it is obligated to honour a written commitment given. When approached by this newspaper for a comment on what was decided so far, directors of the Bank cited the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) saying that this precluded them from saying anything on the matter.

Earlier this year the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) decided not to grant a forest permit to Aurelius after word surfaced that the application had links to Roger Khan. The GFC permitting process for that company was halted due to the allegations contained in the US Drug Strategy Report which named Khan as a known drug trafficker and also named Aurelius Inc as being controlled by him.

About four months ago Aurelius Inc wrote to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) withdrawing from the entire process of the State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) for development in the interior of its logging enterprise. James Singh, Commissioner of Forests, said back then that the Directors of Aurelius complained that the length of time the process took was not to their liking. (Stabroek News)

Minister of Home Affairs Mr Clement Rohee on Saturday urged police officers and ranks at the new Fort Wellington Police Station to utilize the comfort of their new environment to revitalize programmes for building bridges between the Station and the surrounding community.

The Minister made the call while declaring open the new Police Station. He stressed that the Policemen should ensure that the Station is community friendly. People must not feel fear when they enter this station but must feel secure in the knowledge that it is from buildings like these that real action for their protection from crime originates,” he said.

He urged the speedy establishment of a Station Management Committee which would work in close collaboration with the Community Policing Groups and the Neighbourhood Policing Groups which he stressed had a critical role to play as the eyes and ears of the Force.

Commenting on reforms in train for the Force, Minister Rohee stressed,“We are at the beginning of a new and exciting chapter of the Guyana Police Force since these reforms will result in a highly modernized and professionally motivated corps of officers and ranks”

“I wish to assure the Commissioner of Police and officers and ranks of the Guyana Police Force of my support to bring these reforms to a successful completion because everyone will benefit in the final analysis,” he said.

The ceremony included welcoming and opening remarks by Assistant Commissioner of Police and Commander of Berbice “B” Division Clinton Conway, a report on the project by Officer in Charge of the West Berbice Subdivison Deputy Superintendent W Benjamin, and introduction of the Minister by Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene DSM .

Remarks were also made by Regional Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council of Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice), Mr Harrinarine Baldeo. The Police Force Band provided musical renditions at regular intervals during the one and a half hour long programme.

Commissioner Greene expressed gratitude to President Bharrat Jagdeo who had given instructions for the new building after a visit to the old station compound last year when ranks had complained about the derelict condition of their working environment.

Commissioner Henry Greene stressed that for the Officers and ranks at the Station, the environment should usher in a new era of service in which they would strengthen links with the community and through such links, would be able to provide better service and protection as a whole.

Mr Conway told the gathering the Police will be implementing development programmes for the now vacant lots at the site of the old station later this year.

Regional Chairman Baldeo told the Policemen that the Regional Democratic Council was happy that they had realized their dreams and added that he hoped the new facility would enable them to be more efficient in their job of maintaining law and order.

The Minister unveiled a plaque in the compound to mark the opening of the Station, while the ribbon to the building was cut by eight-year-old Shenella Harte niece of a rank. The vote of thanks was given by Sergeant 16388 Hattie Anthony who is the Station Sergeant.

Minister Rohee and several of the invitees, including businessmen and prominent West Berbice citizens were taken on a tour of the Station. (Clifford Stanley/Guyana Cronicle)

Policemen wearing masks to carry out certain arrests is a security tactic, Acting Commissioner of Police Henry Greene has said. Greene was asked to respond to allegations that three Buxtonians were picked early in September allegedly by members of the Joint Services who were wearing masks. While not denying that his men were involved in the operation, Greene said "there are some tactics that are used". Greene said he could comment publicly on the issue because of security implications.

Several Buxtonians and other citizens have expressed outrage at the tactic. Many feared that the men might have been members of the so-called Phantom Squad back in operation under the guise of policemen.

Early in September, three Buxtonians were allegedly bundled into vehicles by men wearing masks and military garb. Hoods were then placed on three men's heads and they were taken to a building and interrogated before being transported to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Eve Leary.

Neither Greene nor the Joint Services have ever spoken about the issue, although a Joint Services source had admitted that ranks had arrested the men. Initially, the men's families did not know who had taken them and it was only after persistent checks that they learned that the men were in police custody. The men were released a few days later.

Leader of the PNCR, Robert Corbin who spoke about the matter at one of his press conferences had called on Greene to explain what transpired on that day.

Corbin had said that he had visited Buxton on the invitation of some residents who complained about a number of issues including the prolonged presence of members of the police and the army in the village. He said the residents were more concerned about the apprehension of the men by masked men. He said residents could not determine whether the men's captors were police officers as not only were they masked, but standard police procedure was not followed.

Corbin had described the incident as a very dangerous development and said he hoped the country was not returning to the days of the 'phantom squad' when persons were bundled into vehicles, most times by masked men and never been seen alive again.

According to Corbin, there is no law that permits members of law enforcement agencies to wear masks or military garb when conducting their duties and as far as he was concerned the men were kidnapped. After the men were taken their relatives visited the military camp set up at the back of Buxton as well as the Vigilance Police Station but officers at these locations could shed no light on the incident.

Checks were made later by the relatives and Corbin himself revealed that the men were in police custody. He said the men reported that after they were taken and the hoods put over their heads they were placed to lie on the vehicle's floor and after a 20-minute drive they were taken into a house and interrogated during which threats were made on their lives.

Corbin said one of the men was a very industrious farmer in the village and was well known. Corbin had warned the police that they could not do such things and expect the cooperation of citizens to ensure the protection of the society. (Stabroek News)

Suriname's President Ronald Venetiaan says the region must combine efforts to efficiently use its financial and human resources to execute an effective drug control policy.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the International Anti-Narcotics Conference in Paramaribo, he said the scarce resources now available must be used to confront what he called the "tragedy" the region is experiencing as a result of international drug trafficking. "Let us send a clear message to the criminals, that we as states and regional and international entities are also organised and that we too can collaborate at a transnational level," he was quoted as saying in a de Ware Tijd wire.

The Surinamese head of state observed that countries in the region should join forces in the education, public awareness, epidemiological surveillance and integrated demand reduction. He also called for strengthened cooperation in forensic science, maritime activities and anti-money laundering.

Under tight security more than 130 delegates from 12 countries and six international and regional organisations are taking part in a two-day conference aimed at finding a common strategy to stem the importation of drugs in the region and to dismantle drug trafficking organizations.

Guyana is among the participating nations along with Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Colombia, Venezuela, England, Aruba, the Dutch Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America.

Venetiaan said international action must be regarded as a key element in the fight against drugs.

He weighed the impact of the drugs on the political and socio-economic development of many developing countries and he asserted that control of the trade should be more strongly emphasised in political discussion among regional and international partners.

At yesterday's session, Interpol, Caricom, and other regional organisations made presentations and recommendations on ways of tackling the narcotics trade. At the end of the meeting participants will adopt what is being called the Paramaribo Declaration, a clear plan of action on tackling the problems.

It is expected that periodically the implementation of activities based on the Paramaribo Declaration will be reviewed to assess the results and decide whether adjustments are necessary.

During the past several years Suriname has made significant strides in fighting drugs and cartels. During this year alone over 300 kilos of cocaine were seized and several suspects were jailed. Of the ten largest trafficking organizations authorities identified in 2000, eight have already been dismantled. (Stabroek News)

Cocaine excreting suspect charged

CHARGED WITH EXCRETING COCAINE: Marcus George

The 35-year-old defendant, of Lot 2033 Humming Bird Street, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, pleaded not guilty to having trafficked the drug, on October 7, at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

Police said George was an outgoing passenger on Flight BW 432 bound for Jamaica via Barbados, St Maarten and Antigua last Saturday, when he was arrested about 05:30h.

He was taken to a city hospital where, under guard, he excreted the cocaine pellets, Police said. He was refused bail and remanded to prison until November 16. (Guyana Cronicle)

Minister of Home Affairs Mr Clement Rohee repeated the ritual oath of office by swearing to be "tough on drug lords" and pledging to advance the Government's policy to counter narco-trafficking. Like his predecessors in office, Mr Feroze Mohamed, Mr Ronald Gajraj and Ms Gail Teixeira, he will find that merely talking tough is unlikely to dismantle the rich narco-trafficking networks and disentangle the narcotics trade from the political connections which have helped them to thrive.

Mr Rohee met the leadership of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) but did not refer to the fact that CANU's 'leadership' had been depleted since its head walked off the job 10 months ago and, after the execution of its Deputy Head and the murder of one of its senior agents in 2002, the unit is virtually headless.

The Ministry of Home Affairs controls CANU and the Police Anti-Narcotics Unit, the country's two counter-narcotics agencies. CANU's forte is to arrest a few minor couriers with small amounts of marijuana or cocaine, usually on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The Police's speciality is its monthly marijuana eradication exercises where plants are carefully counted and weighed. Neither has successfully moved against a major trafficker and his organisation.

Despite the antics of CANU and the Police, it is known that cocaine enters through the unpatrolled borders of the hinterland and the rivers of the coastland. Light aircraft land at any of the five dozen isolated airstrips or make airdrops into rivers where they are retrieved by local retailers. But the Government has never given CANU and the Police the resources to get there.

This need not be so. When Feroze Mohamed became Minister of Home Affairs fourteen years ago, he inherited a plan called Guyana's Strategy for Dealing with the Drug Problem and a working 'National Drug Law Enforcement Committee' which received reports from a functional Joint Anti-Narcotics Operations Committee. All had been established by 1988. Both the Strategy and the Committee were thrown out the window and a second plan called the National Drug Strategy Master Plan, 1997-2000 and a new National Anti-Narcotic Commission were launched.

During Ronald Gajraj's troubled tenure, these never seemed to work and the country experienced a surge in cocaine trafficking and drug-gang warfare during which CANU's Deputy Head was executed. Now, the Government's third plan, the National Drug Strategy Master Plan, 2005-2009, seems to be paralysed after only 15 months.

Its most important elements are still to be put in place. President Bharrat Jagdeo's promises - to improve the criminal justice system; strengthen the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute narco-traffickers; operationalise the Joint Intelligence Co-ordinating Centre; energise the counter-narcotics agencies; augment border control and the surveillance of our air and sea spaces - remain unfulfilled. Even finding a safe building to house a section of the US Drug Enforcement Administration seems to take the Guyana Government forever.

The Government has not failed to promulgate plans, pass laws, embrace international conventions, enter bilateral agreements, and establish counter-narcotics units. Amazingly, though, it failed to curtail the trade which the US Embassy estimates earns Guyanese narco-traffickers US$150 million annually. Does Mr Rohee possess the political will to do what is necessary to stop this lucrative trade where his predecessors have failed? (Stabroek News)

‘Picture Boy’ on three murder charges

CHARGED WITH THREE MURDERS: Cyon Dielvom Collier, also known as ‘Picture Boy’, in court yesterday.

Twenty-seven-year-old Cyon Dielvom Collier alias ‘Picture Boy’, who was captured by the Joint Services last week following his alleged killing of two brothers, at Victoria, East Coast Demerara, faced three murder charges yesterday.

Apart from murdering siblings Carl Andrews, 31 and Ray Walcott, 35, the accused was also charged with having unlawfully killed Non Pariel businessman Chandrapaul Persaud called ‘Ravin’ and ‘Kero Man’.

Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan, before whom one charge said Collier murdered Andrews and Walcott on September 23 and Persaud on September 30, remanded the prisoner to jail until October 27 for the latter case and October 31 for the former.

The one surrounding the death of Persaud will be called again at Vigilance Court on October 27 while the other, in which the brothers were victims, is fixed for Cove and John Court October 31.

Andrews and Walcott were gunned down when they were looking on at a game of dominoes and Persaud was shot dead during a robbery at his home and business place. (Guyana Cronicle)

Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Home Affairs, Angela Johnson, is expected to lead Guyana's delegation to Suriname to join representatives from 11 nations and several international and regional organisations to initiate a strong regional network to combat narco-trade.

More than 100 delegates from Suriname, Guyana, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Colombia, Venezuela, England, Aruba, the Dutch Antilles, Trinidad and the United States of America are expected to attend the two day conference which runs over two days from October 12.

The meeting is being organised by the Surinamese Government and should result in a common strategy to stem importation of drugs in the region and dismantle drug trafficking organisations. Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told Kaieteur News that Guyana's attendance is an indication of how serious the fight against illicit drugs has become.

At the end of the forum, participants will adopt the so-called ‘Paramaribo Declaration' in which a clear plan of action will be stipulated on how to tackle the problems. “We will take the opportunity to share our experience and at the same time we could also learn from the experiences of other countries.

Our attendance shows how much Guyana is prepared to work with other countries in the fight against narco-trade,” Minister Rohee stressed. The Minister noted that improving the intelligence capabilities in tackling drug trafficking and drug-related criminality is essential since the activities are often traced across borders.

Guyana has always shared good relations with Caribbean and South American countries to stem the flow of narcotics through its borders. However, criticisms have been leveled against Guyana by the United States Government which has urged that more work be done to tackle the illegal activity.

More recently, Guyana and its eastern neighbour Suriname have made significant strides by effectively capturing several criminals and persons wanted for questioning by both authorities. (Kaieteur News)

There was no official word from the police or the army up to late last night on the killing of a Guyanese allegedly by members of the Venezuelan National Guard in the Cuyuni River on Friday evening. Sources yesterday said that the man was killed some time on Friday night but Stabroek News was unable to get any confirmation from the police or the army on the issue.

One source told Stabroek News that he saw the man's body on Saturday morning lying on the airstrip at Eteringbang and confirmed that he had died of gunshot wounds to his chest. Sources told Stabroek News that the man, who was thought to have been a miner, was reportedly transporting fuel on the Cuyuni River when the boat was confronted by members of the National Guard.

This newspaper understands that the guards ordered the boat to return to Venezuela but the boat owner refused and was then shot. It is not clear if any other person was injured in the incident. Stabroek News was told that the man is reported to have once lived in San Martin, a small settlement in Venezuela.

Sources told Stabroek News that there are a number of miners in the Cuyuni, and that recently several Brazilians had gone into that area. The miners are supplied with fuel from Venezuela. One source said the residents of San Martin would seek permits from the Venezuelan authority to supply the miners with fuel.

In the past there had been problems between Guyanese miners and the Venezuelan authorities but in recent years the situation had been relatively calm. Under the Paris Tribunal Award of 1899, the whole of the Cuyuni River as far as the Wenamu belongs to Guyana; there is no median line or thalweg boundary in that waterway. It is understood that both the police and the army have launched an investigation. (Stabroek News)

`Picture Boy’ confesses to killing brothers

Also linked to `Kero Man’ murder

Seon Dielvom Collier, also known as `Picture Boy’, who was wanted for allegedly killing his best friend and a brother, has confessed to the slayings, senior Police sources said yesterday.'

Police said ballistics tests on an AK-47 rifle found with Collier when he was nabbed while fast asleep Thursday, and spent shells recovered at the spot where the two brothers were shot dead two Saturdays ago, have also linked him to the killing. The ballistics tests have also tied him to the brutal murder of an East Coast Demerara businessman during a robbery a week after the brothers were slain at Victoria, also on the East Coast, Police said.

A Police statement last night said it has been ascertained that the AK-47 assault rifle found was used at both murder scenes and the Rose Hall, Corentyne, Berbice, bank robberies two months ago.

Collier, 26, was held in a Joint Services operation in Bachelor’s Adventure, about three miles west of where the brothers were killed at Victoria. Sources said that under intensive grilling, he claimed he found the AK-47 rifle in the abandoned house where he was arrested, and confessed to murdering the brothers.

According to the sources, Collier admitted he is responsible for the death of his best friend Carl Andrews, 31, and his 35-year-old brother Ray Walcott at North Victoria public road, while they were watching a game of dominoes around 02:30 h on September 23. The sources told the Guyana Chronicle Collier did not say whether or not he is sorry for cutting the men down in the prime of their lives or for the pain and devastation he has caused their loved ones.

If the confession statement is accepted as evidence, it could be enough to convict Collier for crimes that could send him to the gallows, legal sources said. “A confession statement is enough to get you hanged,” a prominent attorney-at-law told the Guyana Chronicle.

It can convict a defendant even in the absence of witnesses to the crime he admits committing, “as long as it is proven through a Voir Dire (smaller trial) that the statement was made freely and voluntarily”, and not under violent interrogation, the lawyer explained in a telephone interview.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that the ballistics tests also proved that the AK-47 found on Collier was used in the shooting murder of 34-year-old Chandrapaul Persaud, called ‘Ravin’ or ‘Kero Man’, around 18:50 h on September 30, at Non Pariel, just two villages from Bachelor’s Adventure where the wanted man was arrested.

A source said he has also been positively identified by a close relative of Chandrapaul as one of the men who robbed the business place and then killed the businessman.

“Spent shells found at Victoria, a warhead taken from the deceased Chandrapaul’s body and spent shells recovered from the Rose Hall Bank robberies have been matched as having been fired from the recovered AK 47 rifle through ballistic tests. Further tests are being carried out as the police continue their investigations”, Police said in the release last night.

`Picture Boy’ is under maximum security assisting police with investigations into other high-profile crimes. Police have interviewed several persons who witnessed the killing of the brothers at Victoria, both of whom were fathers of young children. Andrews has a seven-year-old son, while Walcott’s widow, Esther Lewis-Walcott is left with four children and is seven months pregnant with their fifth child.

Police had issued a wanted bulletin for Collier and arrested him Thursday during a cordon and search operation by the Joint Services, in an abandoned house at Bachelor’s Adventure. Sources said the owner of the house, a gold and diamond miner, left months ago for the interior where he spends most of his time working, but men strange to the area broke in and occupied the place. They said other well-known criminals also frequented the place.

`Picture Boy’ was found in deep sleep in the house and was awakened by Joint Services ranks before they arrested him. He was found with an AK-47 assault rifle with a magazine and 13 rounds matching ammunition, one Mosburg 12 gauge pump action shotgun with eight live cartridges and an Astra .25 pistol with two rounds matching ammunition.

The Joint Services confirmed in a statement Thursday evening that the AK-47 rifle is one of the 30 discovered missing from the Guyana Defence Force ammunition bond at its Camp Ayanganna headquarters during February this year.

GDF spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Claude Fraser, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that when Collier was arrested with the AK-47 in his possession on Thursday, it was the first time since the rifles disappeared from the Army bond, that someone was held with one of the stolen guns.

A charge is also likely to be instituted against him for having the AK-47 rifle belonging to the GDF. The rifle found with Collier, was the 11th recovered of the 30 that went missing from the Army headquarters.

Colonel Fraser said the Army has recovered 10 others over the past four months, the first being found on June 1 just outside a clump of bushes behind the village of Enterprise, also on the East Coast Demerara. Seven of the army guns were recovered during a six-day Joint Services operation which was carried out in Berbice after the robberies on Demerara Bank and Republic Bank at Rose Hall Corentyne, two months ago.

Eight suspected bank robbers were shot dead during the operation and of the nine AK-47 assault rifles and one Berretta automatic pistol found during that operation, seven AK-47s were the property of the GDF. The other two of the army weapons were recovered in a coconut estate at Washington, West Coast Berbice on September 27. Nineteen of the weapons are still missing.

`Picture Boy’ was arrested once before during a Joint Services operation after he was suspected to have been involved in an armed robbery a few months ago, but he was released after there was no concrete evidence identifying him as one of the criminals involved. (Shauna Jemmott/Guyana Cronicle)

'Picture Boy' caught sleeping

With stolen Army AK-47, two other guns

CAUGHT IN DEEP SLEEP: wanted man Seon Dielvom Collier, also called `Picture Boy’ after his arrest yesterday

The man wanted for the brutal slaying of two brothers at Victoria village, East Coast Demerara two Saturdays ago, was yesterday morning nabbed in a joint Army and Police cordon and search operation as he lay fast asleep in an abandoned house.

The Joint Services said Seon Dielvom Collier, also known as `Picture Boy’, was found in the house at Bachelor’s Adventure, just about three miles west of where he allegedly fatally shot the two brothers, one of them his best friend from boyhood days.

Police last week had issued a wanted bulletin for Collier for killing brothers Ray Walcott and Carl Andrews early on the morning of September 23. The Joint Services said they found him during an early morning cordon and search operation between the villages of Paradise and Bachelor’s Adventure.

The ranks also found an AK-47 assault riffle with a magazine and 13 rounds matching ammunition, one Mosburg 12 gauge pump action shotgun with eight live cartridges and an Astra .25 pistol with two rounds matching ammunition. Collier was caught by surprise and had no chance of resisting arrest.

A police source said the man was sleeping “deep” when the Joint Services closed in on him, and he was awakened and told to wash his face before the ranks handcuffed and read him his rights.

He is assisting with investigations into several other crimes, including the armed robbery and murder of businessman Chandrapaul Persaud which took place around 18:50 h last Saturday, at Non Pariel, also on the East Coast Demerara.

Five other males and two females were arrested and are in custody pending investigations into several criminal offences, including robbery under arms, the Joint Services said.

The statement said it has been confirmed that the AK-47 rifle is one of those discovered missing from the Guyana Defence Force ammunition bond at its Camp Ayanganna headquarters during February this year. The Army said 30 of its AK-47 rifles had been stolen from the bond and several have been recovered at different places.

The Joint Services thanked residents in the operation area for their cooperation. Collier, 26, was caught less than 24 hours after the murdered Victoria brothers were laid to rest and was last night under tight security after being grilled intensively by detectives at Police headquarters in Georgetown.

Commander of ‘C’ Division, Assistant Commissioner Leroy Brummell told the Guyana Chronicle the wanted man was caught sleeping in an abandoned house. He said the Joint Services operation was as a result of information received that the wanted man was hiding out in the area, and several houses were searched before he was nabbed.

‘Picture Boy’ gained notoriety when he became the lone suspect in the murder of siblings Walcott, 34, and Andrews, 31. Witnesses said the brothers were watching a heated game of dominoes at a popular gambling spot around 02:30 h, when they were killed.

Collier had made his way into the village hours before on a motorbike and was chatting casually with the men before launching the deadly attack, they said. The murder took place outside Crapo Barber Shop at the North Victoria Main Road, just opposite the house where Collier once lived with his grandmother, sister and other relatives.

Collier and Andrews had a close bond, and the murders had taken a toll on the entire village, with citizens fearing for their own lives and protesting the deaths by bloodshed at the funeral Wednesday. The families of both men said they were best friends since childhood and lived at each other’s houses from time to time.

The brothers were laid to rest and ‘Picture Boy’ captured, but the pain and devastation suffered by the bereaved families and memories of the murderous event will remain with Victoria for a very long time. (Guyana Cronicle)

WIDOWED AND PREGNANT: Widow Esther Walcott leans on her husband’s casket for support while holding two of their daughters. Her mother-in-law Joan Andrews sits behind her as PNCR leader Robert Corbin looks on

The two brothers slain two Saturdays ago at Victoria, East Coast Demerara, were buried yesterday amid deep mourning while their killer remained at large.

Hundreds turned out for the funerals of 31-year-old Carl Andrews and his brother Ray Walcott, just three years his senior, who were brutally murdered around 02:30 h while watching a heated game of dominoes at a popular gambling spot in Victoria.

The shooting took place just opposite the alleged killer’s home on the North Victoria Middle Walk Road. While Walcott was shot at close range in his forehead and stomach, Andrews was shot in his stomach and on an arm.

Witnesses said an AK-47 assault rifle was used in the brothers’ killing, and police have issued a wanted bulletin for Andrews’ best friend, Sean Coulier, also known as ‘Picture Boy’, accused of carrying out the shocking executions.

KURT Andrews being revived by relatives after fainting one more time while saying a final goodbye to his two brothers. He had migrated to the United States just days before the duo was murdered.

The bodies of the men arrived at their home in Victoria around 13:25 h yesterday, with a long line of vehicles leading the way. Many wailed and waved red bandanas as the hearses approached the family home. Ray Walcott’s casket was the first to be fetched in and Andrews followed just after.

Many, who had already gathered under the wide tarpaulin tent just outside the yard, drew closer for an early peek at the bodies which were on viewing for about an hour before the funeral service began there.

The brothers were dressed in matching white suits. Andrews’ low-cut hair was neatly combed, while Walcott wore a black head tie covering his badly dented forehead.

A gaping wound halfway down the right side of his face carried stitches, and his little sister Camille kept complaining that the man in the casket did not look like the brother she knew, since his face was badly disfigured.

Throughout the time the bodies stayed in front of their home, she paraded between the two caskets, expressing her devastation and deep pain. “When (the accused killer) get lock up, Alo (Andrews) does call mummy and beg her to send money to bail he out”, she recalled. She said the men were best friends and she still found it hard to understand why her brothers’ lives were taken by Andrews’ closest friend.

“Bob Marley tune really reveal itself today,” she said, crying bitterly. She was referring to “Who the cap fit”, a Bob Marley composition which also said “your worse enemy could be your best friend and your best friend your worse enemy”. Kurt, a brother of the dead men, constantly fainted during the procession. He had migrated to the United States just days before his brothers were murdered and he couldn’t find the strength to cope with losing them.

Their heartbroken mother seemed strong, but only up to a point. She watched her older son Walcott in obvious distress for about an hour before moving over to the body of Andrews, just an arm’s length away and breaking down. Walcott’s wife, Esther, sat nearby his casket with two of their four children in her arms. She too is heartbroken, but was suffering silently.

The preacher at the ceremony extended sympathy to the family and encouraged them to lean on God for faith. “Many hearts are broken…many souls are in grief…words cannot explain the depth of the pain and the grief many people are going through. I ask God for special strength for this family,” he said.

Leader of the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Mr Robert Corbin, a close friend of the family, in paying tribute, called the killing an act of “inhumanity to man”.

WEEPING relatives viewing the body of one of the brothers at the funeral yesterday

Mr Corbin urged them to respect each other’s values and “restore the solidarity and brotherhood our ancestors taught us”.

Persons sympathized with the family, offering tributes through songs and reflecting on the lives of the brothers. They all encouraged the family members to trust in God through all the pain, and assured the mother of the deceased that the current situation will make her a stronger person one day. They also assured them that their lost loved ones are “sheltering in the arms of God”.

Eulogies presented reflected on the lives of the men and portrayed them as brothers with different personalities. The elder brother Walcott was remembered as friendly, outgoing, kind, loving, caring, mischievous (in his childhood days) and a man who always represented his family well.

Andrews, a national footballer in the popular ‘Victoria Kings’ club, was described as a very private person who never complained when things went wrong. He was courteous, jovial, outgoing and disciplined, the eulogy read. Ever since the killing, villagers have expressed concerns about their safety and the future of Victoria, and some are calling on the police for a speedy capture of ‘Picture Boy’. (Guyana Cronicle)

A CANU spokesman said the find was made in a storeroom on the lower flat of the house and officers are looking for Mustaq Ally, suspected to be hiding in Mahaicony Creek, also on East Coast Demerara.

CANU said the cache included 50 rounds of .32 ammunition, 24 rounds of .38 special revolver bullets, two kilogrammes of compressed cannabis (marijuana), Guyanese and Surinamese identification cards and a pair of military type clothing. The ammunition will be handed over to the Police for further investigation, a CANU official said.

According to him, it is the second time the same house was raided. The first search, earlier this year, netted marijuana and arms and ammunition but no arrest on that occasion either.

The official said Ally is wanted in connection with a murder committed in the Mahaica area and, when he emerges from his hiding place, he spends a night in the house before disappearing again.

However, CANU is also working on the theory that the fugitive has an accomplice. Meanwhile, 700 more grammes of marijuana were taken from an abandoned cane field at Cane Grove, another East Coast Demerara location, where one in the two successful of four raids were carried out, CANU said. (Guyana Cronicle)

CLOSE WATCH: Police have beefed up security along the busy Regent Street shopping zone in Georgetown following several daring daylight robberies during the past week.

Heavily-armed Police patrol ranks, mobile and on foot, were seen moving around the shopping area yesterday.

The woman’s two children found her dead body in a pool of blood Sunday morning and her father, George Luke, of Lot 7 ‘B’ Field, Dennis Street, Sophia, also in Greater Georgetown, said he had last seen his daughter alive about 21:45 h Saturday when he took his grandchildren back to her home.

The man said the siblings, eight-year-old Tyrell McGregor and Shaunte Moore, four, would spend weekends with him but he returned them to their mother after she called Saturday night.

According to him, his daughter enquired about the welfare of her sister and nieces before he left and he was surprised when her offspring arrived at his house around 09:00 h on Sunday with the sad news.

Shot dead: Joyann Luke.

He sent three of his other children to verify what he had been told and they confirmed the tragedy.

The surviving brother and sister who attend F.E Pollard Primary School and St Agnes Nursery School will now be living with their grandfather and he said he would seek some assistance from overseas relatives when they come for the funeral. (Guyana Cronicle)

Max Pereira, 63, who played a leading role in the development of cycling in the country, and his reputed wife Marlis Archer, 43, were shot dead outside their Duncan Street, Bel Air residence about three hours before midnight Sunday. Police said the attack was by a lone gunman who used a shotgun and fled the scene on a motorcycle ridden by an accomplice.

Archer’s mother, Stella, said the couple had left hours earlier to check on a pub they own in another city ward. She said she was in her home with her son and two granddaughters at about 21:30 h when she heard gunshots. Her son, Lindsey, urged them to lie on the floor and he ventured to the door after the shooting stopped. He said he saw the couple lying on the bridge outside the yard, both bleeding.

The elderly Archer said they called an ambulance and the Police. She said the Police responded promptly and when they came the couple were taken to the hospital. The woman said her daughter was pronounced dead at the hospital and Pereira died about 04:30 h yesterday.

They both died from about three gunshots each, she said, adding that her daughter was shot in one of her eyes as well as in her back and abdomen. She said Pereira was shot in the back of his neck and on his abdomen and jaw.

Pereira was engaged in a private practice as an architect and worked out of his home. His reputed wife worked along with him. He had adopted a son, Vidal, she bore before their relationship. He was not at home at the time of the attack. Relatives yesterday said they could not understand why anyone would want the two killed.

Pereira was President of the Continental Cycle Association. The couple lived in the upper flat of the building, while the elderly Archer lived downstairs. Neighbours said that shortly before the gunman attacked, they saw two men walking up and down the street. Police recovered nine spent shells at the scene, as investigations continue. (Guyana Cronicle)

A 27-year-old woman was shot and killed some time on Saturday night as her two young children lay asleep in their beds. They only knew something was amiss when they woke yesterday morning to discover their mother lying in a pool of blood near the front door of the house.

It is not clear who killed Joyann Luke, of Lot 42 Austin Street, Campbellville, but suspicion is falling on a male acquaintance who was in the habit of visiting her home and beating her. Police are on the hunt for the man.

The woman's two children, Tyrell, seven, and Shaunta, four, attempted to wake their mother after they rose yesterday morning, and when she did not move they changed their clothes and headed to their grandfather's home in Dennis Street, Sophia, more than a two miles away from their home. The children had to cross busy Sheriff Street in the process. They told no one in the neighbourhood what they had seen.

Their grandfather, George Luke, said the two children arrived at his house at around 9.15 am, and informed him that their mother was dead and was lying in a pool of blood.

"I did not believe them, so I send me two sons and me next daughter to go and see, and them they call me and tell me is true," the man said. He said when he visited the house he saw his daughter lying on the floor in a pool of blood next to the door with a wound to her forehead.

The police were then called, and they informed the family that the woman had been shot and the bullet was still lodged in her head. The woman was wearing a blue skirt and a cream top and strangely had a glove on one of her hands, her father said.

Luke said that usually whenever there was no school his grandchildren would stay with him, and as such they knew the way from their home to his because of the number of times they had made the journey. He said it was only at about 10 pm he had dropped the two children home on Saturday night and had spoken to his daughter. "That is why I didn't believe she dead when dem children tell me; is only when I hear it the second time I had to believe," the man said.

According to Luke his daughter had no problems with anyone other than the male acquaintance. She lived alone in the house with her two children until recently, when a friend had moved in with them. However, the friend, a woman, did not sleep in the house on Saturday night. He went on to explain that the house had once belonged to his aunt who had died earlier this year. She had left it to a relative in the US, but his daughter who had also lived there when the aunt was alive had been given power of attorney for the property.

The victim usually slept outside next to the front door, and when Stabroek News visited her small bed was unmade and bloodstains on the floor could still be seen. According to the older of the two children when they arrived home they had gone to bed and their mother had gone to bed too.

"We wake up and we hear something making noise like tumbling but we think is a cat deh in the house and he catch a rat. We went back and sleep and when we wake up we see she [his mother] bleeding from she nose," the child said yesterday in the presence of their grandfather. The children said a man would visit the home and "trouble she [their mother] and beat she up steady."

A neighbour told relatives that he had heard the woman scream and then he heard a gunshot, and when he peeped out he saw a dark grey car driving off. Family members said they were baffled as to why the man had not called the police and informed them about the gunshot or why he had not visited their home and told them what he had heard, since he knew where they lived.

Luke said the male acquaintance and his daughter had separated about two years ago after he had got married, but recently the man would visit the home and it appeared as if they were back together again. He said both of his grandchildren would go to the man's home from time to time. He knew the couple had problems, but his daughter had never complained to him. The two children were taken to the police where they gave statements. Investiga-tions are continuing. (Oluatoyin Alleyne/Stabroek News)