May 31, 2007
Armed bandits raid pet supplies store againFor the third time in 12 months, armed bandits on Tuesday afternoon stormed Livestock and Pet Shop Supplies Store at King street and North Road near the St George's Cathedral, beat and threatened to kill the owner and his employees and escaped with some $300,000 cash. Proprietor Deonarine Ramgobin said he has now become fed up of the incessant attacks and would soon relocate his business.
The man said that even with the presence of armed policemen patrolling the streets, the bandits have been able to carry out their attacks and escape. "They are coming when they know that it is time to close off, which means they are getting all of the day's sales," Ramgobin lamented.
Police said in a release that around 4.15 pm on Tuesday three men robbed the shop of cash and articles. According to the police, Ramgobin, a resident of Leonora, West Coast Demerara and three female employees were tending to the establishment when the armed bandits struck. The robbers entered the building and stuck up the employees, ordering them to lie on the ground, after which they stole $300,000 from a drawer and a cellular phone and a bunch of keys from Ramgobin.
They then made good their escape. Police said it was the third robbery to have been committed on this entity within recent times. Meanwhile, during an interview with Stabroek News yesterday Ramgobin said persons working on Robb Street saw five men exit a car not too far from the store. One of the men went into King Street, while another stood at the head of North Road. These men, according to reports, acted as lookouts for the other three who went into the store.
Ramgobin said the three men entered the store like any other customer, but before he could do or say anything the men pulled out guns and ordered everyone to lie face down. Ramgobin said one of the bandits put a gun to his head, jumped over the counter and demanded that he hand over all of the cash.
The businessman said he pointed the robbers to the money, but one of them was under the impression that he had more and so he kept asking for the money bag. After spending some time in the shop, the men picked up Ramgobin's cellular phone and a bunch of keys. They then ran out of the store, got into a car, which was waiting for them and disappeared in the busy downtown area.
Police were summoned to the scene, but arrived too late to give chase. The businessman said he was getting little help from the police. He said all the ranks were doing was to take four hours to take a statement and promise to follow up the matter. Two weeks ago, four men robbed the store of its day's sales and last year there was also a robbery at the location during which time the bandits escaped with a large sum of cash.
Noting, that the bandits seem to be targeting his business place, Ramgobin said the situation has driven fear into his staff, two of whom did not report to work yesterday. "These girls went through this thing three times now so I can imagine how they feel," he said.
The businessman said he would not be surprised if they decided to leave the job. The businessman pointed out that the location of his business gave the criminals some leeway, noting that the area is usually desolate at certain times in the day and was off the beaten track. However, he said the location affords his customers good parking, a luxury they would not enjoy when he relocates. "I will have to do it if I am going to make a profit with what I am doing," the businessman said.
He told Stabroek News that he had other options; one was to be a lecturer at the University of Guyana and the other to migrate to Canada. "I decided to stay and help build this country, but it looks like it is not paying off," the frustrated Ramgobin lamented.
He mentioned that during the course of last week he observed a man sitting in the compound of St George's Cathedral, which his store overlooks, observing his every movement. He said that the man was at the church almost every day last week. He said on Tuesday the man was seen there up to midday and since the robbery, the man has not reappeared.
"These are people who are targeting me. They are looking at me closely so I have to move," the businessman said. Over recent weeks, there has been an upsurge in criminal activities in and around the city. A number of armed robberies have been committed on storeowners, despite the presence of policemen on the streets. (Stabroek News)
Taxi driver died from fractured skull Post mortem shows
A post mortem examination performed yesterday revealed that murdered taxi driver Dirk Simon, of 2214 Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, died from internal haemorrhage and a fractured skull.
The battered corpse of the ex-policeman was discovered in a pool of water at Plantation Profitt Public Road, West Coast Berbice, Sunday morning and his hire car HB 3032 was abandoned at Blairmont, West Bank Berbice. The discoveries sparked a continuing investigation in which detectives are following some leads.
The cops have since taken statements from Simon’s employer and colleagues at Kitty Cabs in Georgetown, including one with whom Simon had an argument when they both went to collect the same passenger in the city last Friday.
Simon is to be buried at the Uitvlugt Cemetery, West Coast Demerara, at 16:00h today. Simon began working with Kitty Cabs Taxi Service a month ago but previously operated from Vreed-en-Hoop, also on the West Coast Demerara, for more than two years. (Guyana Cronicle)
Linden Police arrest suspect after failed rape attack
Police at Linden yesterday morning arrested a man suspected of being involved in a spate of violent attacks on women including rapes. The suspect, believed to be the rapist who has been on the run for sometime now, was taken into custody after a 23-year-old mother was attacked in her Lot 554 Canvas City, Wismar home and struggled with him.
The naked attacker fled from the woman’s house and made good his escape after the 04:00h invasion of her bottom flat residence. The victim said she was asleep when she felt something drop between her legs. When I opened my eyes, the person had what seemed to be baby oil in one hand and held on to my throat, ”she recalled.
She said she started fighting off her assailant and hollering but when her aunt enquired, from within, what was happening she could not answer because the intruder was still holding her throat. However, every time she got the opportunity, she screamed and, on realising he could not succeed in his quest, the man grabbed something he had put down on the bed, either a knife or an ice pick and stabbed her twice, she told the Guyana Chronicle.
She said the weapon pierced her right thigh and the inside of the upper part of her left leg. According to her, the man entered the house by removing panes from a louvre window and unlocking a door through which he fled after the failed attempt at raping her. He was naked and wore a black felt hat which was discarded at the scene and retrieved by the Police.
The woman said her three children, aged four years, two years and 11 months, were in the apartment at the time. A cousin chased after the fleeing man but abandoned the chase for fear that the attacker might have been armed with a gun as he threatened to kill when the pursuer appeared to be gaining ground on him. But the man in detention was arrested on the basis of the description given by the woman. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 30, 2007
Police say man fatally shot by cop....
identified as Metro robber
Police have said that Joseph Greene, who was shot and killed by a police officer last Thursday, was identified by witnesses on Sunday as one of the persons involved in the May 5 robbery of Metro. According to reports the witnesses visited the funeral parlour and identified him.
But there has been no further development on the investigation into the 19-year-old's death while conflicting reports have been given by the police and the man's sister who said she had witnessed the shooting.
Last week the police had said that apart from being wanted in connection with Metro's robbery the man was also wanted in connection with the murder of Dave Hescott whose bullet-riddled body was found in the cemetery. They had said that the police saw the young man playing a game of football and approached him from different directions. He allegedly attempted to disarm one of the ranks when he was shot.
Yesterday Stabroek News could not get any information on the status of the investigation as all that was being told to this newspaper was that "the investigation is continuing."
Petal Marshall, the man's sister who said she witnessed the shooting, had told Stabroek News that her brother was running behind her son to scold him when he was shot. She said the police had pulled up in a white mini-bus and after it stopped two plainclothes officers disembarked.
She recognised one of them as being one of the officers whom she had taken to find her nephew Kwame Marshall, who had escaped from the police, after he had called her. She had said that Kwame was the one who knew Hescott as the day before his body was found he was seen riding around with the young man.
After he escaped Petal had said the police searched her home while Joseph was sleeping there but not once did they attempt to arrest him. The woman is a special constable. She had said that at no time did her brother attempt to disarm any of the officers as he never knew they were there until he was shot from behind.
She said she gave a statement to the police last Saturday adding that one of the officers involved in the shooting witnessed the post-mortem. After the young man is buried today the family said they will be looking at what steps they can take to get justice. (Stabroek News)
May 29, 2007
"Murdered taxi-driver knew his killers" says his wife
Dead: Dirk Simon
Murdered ex-policeman, Dirk Simon, who was hijacked while working his AT 192 burgundy motorcar as a taxi driver on Saturday night, knew his killers. “The day he bought the car and drove it in the yard, I said Dirk that is an AT 192, the vehicle bandits prefer. He told me that they would have to kill him to get it,” his wife Elizabeth Simon said yesterday.
She said that her husband had an argument with another taxi driver over a ‘pickup’ for which both drivers showed up at the same location in the city on Friday, and the other driver had openly threatened to kill him.
Mrs. Simon, 30, of 2214 Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, said that she believes her husband put up a fight with his attackers. She said that Simon was a very quiet, honest, hardworking individual who was strong-willed and stood up for what he believed in.
His battered body was found by residents in a pool of water just off Plantation Profitt Public Road, West Coast Berbice early Sunday morning. Meanwhile, his motorcar, HB 3032, was found abandoned a few miles away at Blairmont Public Road, with everything intact, including the radio set.
Simon’s motorcar was spray-painted with white at the side which erased the Kitty Cabs emblem which was printed there.
Dirk Simon’s children
Investigators believe that Simon was repeatedly struck at the back of the head with the trunk of a tree while he was lying facedown and was stabbed in the armpit and stomach. They are of the opinion that the killer(s) bashed in Simon’s head at the scene and dumped his body in the pool of water since there was no blood in his car.
His wife said the only thing missing from her husband is his Motorola C115 cellular phone. She last saw her husband when he left for work early Saturday morning and promised to return home on Sunday morning to spend time with the children and take them to Parika.
“I was preparing meals and I realised that time had passed when he would usually return home and I telephoned him on his cellular phone and got a busy tone,” she said. She added that she did not suspect that anything was wrong until she called the taxi service and employees told her that the car was seen parked on the Blairmont Public Road, but they could not locate him.
Mrs. Simon said that she came to the city and dropped off the children at her sister’s house and went to the taxi service. She and a number of drivers headed to West Coast Berbice, when they stumbled upon his body at Plantation Profitt, West Coast Berbice.
The grieving woman said that the taxi service was in contact with him on Saturday night when he went for a pickup in South Ruimveldt. Then they received a call about 2.30 am Sunday saying that one of their cars was abandoned at Blairmont. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle)
Rohee asks Police to revisit crime-fighting posture
In the wake of an apparent resurgence of serious criminal activities, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee says he has asked the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to revisit their crime fighting posture with a view to employing new and additional tactics to counter what appears to be a “creeping and sinister” attempt by the underworld to reintroduce an experience of the past which all peace-loving Guyanese view neither with honour nor pride.
Rohee made this pitch at a press conference yesterday at his Georgetown office. He conceded that the absence of legislation has been a hindrance to the police in addressing new dimensions of crime, but assured that his Ministry is expediting the process of introducing new legislation.
In this regard, he cited the passage of three bills in the National Assembly. “Already new laws relative to the fight against crime are being passed by the National Assembly to enable law enforcement agencies to break new frontiers in the fight against crime,” Rohee said.
Of special note, he observed, was the recent law passed to deal with those who harbour criminals, and he appealed to such persons to come forward and assist the police in flushing out the criminals. He lamented the absence of such legislation in the past, pointing that it hindered the prosecution of those involved in harbouring criminals.
He indicated too that the technological capacity of the GPF is being strengthened, and under the Citizens Security Programme, a forensic laboratory will be established capable of carrying out DNA testing. Currently, DNA testing has to be done abroad, Rohee said.
Touching on the manpower shortage of the GPF, Rohee indicated that this is being buttressed on major fronts through recruiting and expanding community policing groups from which Rural Constables are recruited and trained. Neighbourhood police are also being expanded, and while they are paid, community policing is being done on a voluntary basis with support from the government in the form of vehicles and boats.
Rohee indicated that the appointment of the Coordinator of the Anti-Drug Secretariat will be appointed “pretty soon”, explaining that such appointments take time because of the need to find a suitable person.
Responding to the recent spate of road accidents, Rohee disclosed that a draft “omnibus” legislation dealing with breathalyser tests for alcohol, use of cell phones while driving, and a de-merit points system for licensed drivers is currently being reviewed by him, to see if all the instructions given to the Parliamentary Legal Counsel have been adhered to.
Rohee disclosed that most of the vehicular accidents involve mini-buses and drivers between their early twenties and early forties, and most occur during the day. He said he has asked the GPF to engage in more aggressive policing and to come up with a positive traffic plan to nab those who violate traffic laws. (Chamanlal Naipaul/Guyana Cronicle)
Bandits raid Corentyne home
Escape with over $1.2M
Harrinarine points to the fence where the bandits scaled
Five masked bandits, all armed with handguns raided a home at Williamsburg, Corentyne at 3.30 am on Saturday and escaped in a white car with over $700,000 in jewellery and $500,000 cash.
Mahadeo Harrinarine said he and his two sons, Deonauth, 16, and Ritish, 20, were in the yard plucking chicken to take to the market to sell when he noticed a white AT 192 Carina car with an "H" number plate driving through the street.
He said he continued with his work, but his five dogs, including two of Doberman breed started to bark ferociously. When he looked up, he saw three bandits scaling his fence. One each pointed a gun at him and his sons. He said one of the dogs attempted to attack a bandit and the man attempted to shoot it.
The men took Harrinarine and his sons into the house and bound his sons' hands behind their backs with duct tape. He said two other bandits appeared and they asked for money and jewellery.
He said the men entered his bedroom in the lower flat and told his wife Mohanie Ramnarine, who was lying on the bed to remain there. They then removed the jewellery she was wearing and ransacked the room, looting other valuables.
They also entered the top flat of the building and continued to remove other items including the cash, cell phones, a DVD player and wristwatches. He said the men spent about ten minutes in the house before scaling the fence again and joining the waiting taxi a short distance away.
The man claimed that three of the bandits were dressed in black clothing while the other two wore black pants and blue shirts which looked like police uniforms. He said he telephoned for the police and they arrived about one hour later. (Stabroek News)
Ministry, airlines mulling measures...
to counter drugs moving through airports
The Ministry of Home Affairs and the international airlines operating out of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, are trying to hammer out a draft of measures which is to be adopted by all stakeholders in the airline business to counter the movement of illicit drugs through the airport.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee met with stakeholders yesterday to discuss recommendations made from a draft of measures intended to address security deficiencies at CJIA.
Rohee recalled that when the two sides held their first meeting, security lapses and deficiencies in the processing of luggage, cargo and passengers were discussed and the human factor was identified as the greatest deficiency.
This, he said, has to be stamped out and everyone must be made accountable. In this regard, technology would come into play. Rohee said the objective is to adopt a set of recommendations which could be acceptable to all stakeholders, and this will eventually lead to the clinching of a Memorandum of Understanding and eventual implementation. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 28, 2007
Taxi man battered to death
Hijacked car plunges into trench
Dead: Dirk Simon
The body of a 29-year-old taxi driver was found dumped in a swamp close to the roadside at Profitt, West Coast Berbice early yesterday morning while his hijacked taxi was found abandoned in a trench at Blairmont.
Dirk Simon, an ex-policeman, was discovered face down in the swamp with wounds to the back of his head, face and right armpit. A piece of blood-stained wood was reportedly recovered at the scene.
He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a blue shirt which was pulled halfway up his back and a pair of white sneakers. Simon, the owner/driver of the burgundy AT 170 Carina, HB 3032, was attached to the Kitty Cab Taxi Service on Sheriff Street.
Residents of the sparsely populated area happened upon the body after 7 am yesterday and telephoned the Fort Wellington Police Station. The driver of another car told police he saw when the car, travelling at a fast rate, apparently missed the turn at Blairmont and ended up in the trench. He said the two occupants of the car scrambled out and headed in the direction of Ithaca.
The hijacked car after it plunged into the trench. Note the spray paint on the side.
The man said that a few minutes before that another car, a silver Carina wagon slammed into a bridge close to the scene. Police are trying to ascertain whether the two accidents were connected.
They are also working on the theory that robbery may not have been the motive for the murder since a small amount of cash was recovered in the car. This newspaper noticed that the name and telephone numbers of the taxi service were covered with white spray paint.
A can of white spray paint was found in the car. There was also a piece of white rope and what appeared to be marks from a sneaker in the trunk, suggesting that Simon may have been placed there before being dumped. No blood was in the car. Stabroek News learnt that the man was called to do a "pick up at Sheriff Street and a drop off on South Road" at around 10 pm on Saturday and that was the last his colleagues heard from him.
His wife, Elizabeth Simon, 30, said her husband left home at around 8:30 am on Saturday and told her he would work through the night so she was not worried when he did not return. She said he joined the taxi service one month ago and this was his first night outing. The woman said her husband always tried to spend Sunday with her and the children.
She said she was expecting him home around 7 am yesterday and about 8 am after she finished preparing breakfast she dialled his cell phone. After she did not get through she phoned the taxi service and learnt that his car was found in a trench in Berbice and that they did not know where he was.
She said she burst into tears and her seven-year-old daughter, Danielia also started to cry and kept asking for her father. After confirming her worst fears, Elizabeth who spoke to this newspaper in Berbice said the hardest thing for her to deal with is to break the news of his death to Danielia. The couple also has a nine-month-old baby, Emmelia.
According to Elizabeth, her husband had always told her that if bandits should try to take his car away from him they would have to "kill him" since he would fight back. In the last five years or so, dozens of taxis have been hijacked and in several cases drivers have been killed in confrontations. Others have lived through harrowing experiences most often in the trunk of the vehicles. (Shabna Ullah/Stabroek News)
Mahaicony farmer killed one day before his birthday
Deceased Ramrattan Singh aka Polo.
Minister of Agriculture Mr Robert Persaud Saturday last visited the home of slain Mahaicony rice farmer Ramrattan Singh and offered sympathy to the family on behalf of himself and the Government.
Minister Persaud expressed sadness at the event and said that he fervently hoped that the criminals would be caught and brought to justice.
In between sobs and loud wails of grief, wife of the slain farmer Mrs Swarti Singh told the Minister that he had been shot dead by bandits in Georgetown one day short of his 49th birthday. He should have celebrated this birthday on Saturday and she had begun making arrangements for the day when she got the news of his death, she said.
Minister Robert Persaud with farmer’s widow Swarti and another family member
Singh, also known as “Polo”, had been shot in the right thigh by one of two bandits who attacked him and robbed of $500,000 on Water Street, Georgetown, around midday last Friday.
Police said that the farmer, who had been conducting business in Water Street, had just come out of a car with a bag containing the large sum of money when the bandits struck. Two men on a scooter rode up alongside him and the pillion rider attempted to snatch the bag from him. The farmer held onto his bag and a struggle ensued during which one of the bandits pulled out a gun and shot him in the thigh.
The man then pulled the bag away, jumped back on to the scooter and he and his accomplice made good their escape. Singh was rushed to a private hospital in Georgetown where he subsequently died. Relatives sad that he is to be buried in his home village at Hyde Park, Mahaicony River, on Thursday. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 26, 2007
Gunmen swoop on Kaieteur News
Two gunmen yesterday swooped on the offices of the Kaieteur News on Saffon Street, Georgetown, ordered the staff on duty in the editorial room to lie face down, and held them under siege for just under five minutes, while they interrogated a female staff member about where the “boss” was.
Staffers said the two men, unmasked and casually dressed, walked into the building now undergoing construction, went past several construction workers and made their way to the top floor, where they waited at the head of the corridor, observing the surroundings unknown to those in the Editorial Department.
It was not until a reporter walked up the stairs around 12:45h and bumped into them that the staff inside became aware of their presence. The reporter said she looked at them, not initially suspecting that anything was amiss, but as she was passing them to enter the Editorial Department, the men stopped her and asked where the boss, Mr. Glen Lall was. She said she replied that he was not in, but they repeatedly demanded to know.
They did not leave, she said, and as she was entering the Editorial Department, the taller of the two advised his stocky companion to let her pass. It was then that she became suspicious and immediately decided that she was not going to enter the newsroom. She said she stood in the doorway, but the two walked past her and entered. Even then, the Editor Adam Harris and reporters, busy at work did not suspect that anything was amiss, for persons would regularly enter the building on work related business.
But on entering the newsroom, the men whisked guns from their waists and ordered the staff to lie on the ground. The eight or so staff members in the newsroom spun around, and fearful for their lives, impulsively hit the ground. It was a harrowing experience, and some cried openly, reporters recalled.
Looking up, they said they saw the nozzles of the weapons pointing in their direction. In an instant the men, who by then had moved deeper into the office and begun to look around, were standing over the heads of some of the staff on the floor.
Some said that at that instant death stared them in the face, and they immediately remembered the attack on the Kaieteur printery about fourteen months ago, in which five of their fellow workers were slain by gunmen who invaded the plant at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
The staffers said that as they lay on the floor, one of the men said they did not want to kill anyone. By then, construction workers who were making their way onto the floor via another, saw the men and raced back downstairs. It was probably then that the police were alerted, as they arrived on the scene soon after.
While staff were still on the floor, the men walked around the newsroom, scrutinising. But even as this was going on, another reporter, who was at another end of the room, was still not aware of the men’s presence. He said that on looking around, he came face to face with the men, but they shook their heads and walked out without inflicting any harm on anyone.
Staffers said the two left on a CJ motorcycle. The newspaper employees said the men were clearly not after money or intent on robbery, since they left without asking anything about cash or taking anything from the building or anyone. They said the two kept insisting they wanted to know where the “boss” was.
Although the gunmen walked into the newsroom around 12:45h, the staff conceded they might have been on that floor much longer than they (reporters) suspected, since they arrived unannounced and were waiting at the top of the stairway before the reporter walked in and saw them. Following police investigations, work for the remainder of the day at the newspaper continued as usual. (Guyana Cronicle)
Bandits kill East Coast farmer in city
An East Coast Demerara rice and cattle farmer was robbed and killed by bandits on Water Street, Georgetown around midday yesterday. Dead is Ramrattan Singh, 49, also known as “Polo”, of Hyde Park, Mahaicony Creek. He was robbed and shot around 12.30h in the vicinity of Guyana Stores Limited.
Police said Singh, who had been conducting business in Water Street, had just left a car with a bag containing about $500,000, when two men on a scooter rode up alongside him and the pillion rider attempted to snatch the bag from him.
Police said the farmer held on to the bag and a struggle ensued during which one of the bandits pulled out a gun, shot him in the left thigh, and then relieved him of the bag. The robbers then rode off.
Singh was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he later died. Relatives told the Guyana Chronicle the farmer had received payment for paddy sold and was in Georgetown to buy spare parts for his rice farming equipment.
He left home early yesterday morning in a vehicle driven by his brother and accompanied by his seventeen-year old daughter Reshma. The daughter was shopping elsewhere at the time of the shooting, relatives said. Singh is also survived by his wife Swartie and son Terry, 14. (Guyana Cronicle)
Cop, neighbourhood policeman charged with corruption
Three men, including an ex-policeman and a serving member of the Guyana Police Force, appeared at the New Amsterdam Court, in Berbice, yesterday on a charge of corrupt transaction with agent.
The former cop, Rajendra Ramcharitar, 44, of Goed Banana Land, East Canje, current detective Desmond Fraser, 42, of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne and Desmond Balgobin, 50, of New Street, Cumberland, also in Canje, pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Chandra Sohan and were each granted $25,000 bail.
Police said the men, on Tuesday, December 26, 2006, at Betsy Ground, Canje, corruptly accepted $10,000 from Deonarine Persaud, as an inducement or reward for forbearing to prosecute the latter for disorderly behaviour.
Persaud was also charged with giving Ramcharitar, a member of the Neighbourhood Police, $10,000 as an inducement or reward to not prosecute him for disorderly behaviour. Persaud was released on his own recognisance and was also ordered to make his next appeaance at Reliance Court on June 13. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 25, 2007
Wanted man shot
A man wanted for robbery under arms and for questioning in a recent murder was shot when he tried to disarm a cop yesterday afternoon, police said.
Joseph Marshall, 25, of West Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was last night nursing a bullet wound in his right hip and under Police guard in hospital, Police said.
He was shot at the corner of James and Cooper Streets Albouystown around 16:30h when Police who had been looking for Marshall in connection with a robbery at a store on May 14 last spotted him playing football.
Marshall, also known as Bun Face, was also wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of city resident David Hescott in April last, Police said.
Policemen converged on him from several directions with the intention of arresting him and he was shot when he attacked one of the ranks apparently with the intention of taking away his gun Police said. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 21, 2007
Fire razes East La Penitence house
Melanie Stewart’s house on fire
A fire suspected to be electrical in origin last evening destroyed a wooden two-bedroom cottage at 31 A Moracut Square, East La Penitence, leaving seven persons homeless and considerable damage to a neighbouring building.
Those now homeless in the fire which claimed everything they had on the premises are Melanie Stewart, her three young children and her two teenaged nieces.
Neighbours said that Stewart and her children had left the home earlier in the day to attend a Thanksgiving Service somewhere on the East Bank Demerara. At the time that the fire started - around 19.00 h one of the teens was said to have been in the house watching television and the other was just entering the bathroom to have a shower.
There are conflicting reports about where the fire started in the house which is located deep down in a yard aback of KFC on Mandela Avenue. However, neighbours said that they heard one of the girls running out shouting, “Fire!” Neighbours marvelled at how quickly the house was razed – in less than half an hour, they claimed.
Meanwhile, a water tank at the back of the neighbouring house (owned by Joycelyn Herbert) helped to contain the flames, as the searing heat melted the overhead tank and the water came cascading down the tressle.
In addition several neighours came together and formed a bucket brigade until the firefighters arrived on the scene. A member of the Herbert household, confirmed that they suffered extensive damage from water used to douse their house, along with broken windows and the destroyed water tank. (Guyana Cronicle)
Wives, children still hopeful of seeing their husbands and fathers again TWO YEARS SINCE SUGAR WORKERS DISAPPEARED
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MISSING DAD: Little Sarah, left, holding up a photo of her father, Sampersaud Taranauth, yesterday. Seated beside her are her mother, Kamini, with her sisters Divya and Lisa.Today marks two dark, desolate, distressing years since Maikhram Sawh and Sampersaud Taranauth mysteriously disappeared in the then volatile and dangerous East Coast Demerara backlands.
But family members and other close relatives of the two sugar-workers have still not given up hope of seeing them again, either dead or alive.
“Hope”, they meekly assured, is the one word they will never, ever, abandon in their search for answers to a never-ending list of questions and most importantly, for their loved ones, both breadwinners for their respective families. Staring them brutally in the face, though, is the harsh reality – that of an unwitting and reluctant acceptance of the fact that they might never see their loved ones again.
Forty-six-year-old Maikhram Sawh, called ‘Bharrat’, of Section ‘B’ Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara, and his colleague Sampersaud Taranauth, called ‘Shammie’, 37, of Fernandes Street, Enterprise, mysteriously disappeared on May 21, 2005.
The two sugar workers were at the time cleaning a Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) drainage canal aback of Vigilance. Today, two years later, there is still no trace of the men in spite of several searches of the East Coast backlands by both the Police and the Army.
Though still visibly distraught and hanging on to an as yet never waning glimmer of hope, the wives of the two missing men whom the Chronicle visited and spoke with yesterday, are still dreaming of a ‘reunion’ with the men they vowed to spend the rest of their lives with.
Taranauth’s now 36-year-old wife, Kamini, reluctantly acknowledged that there are times when she fells like giving up all hope. She tearfully disclosed yesterday that her prayers, and dreams, are still dominated by her husband and the hope that she and her children - three beautiful little girls - can one day see him again.
Shortly after the men disappeared in May 2005, Kamini told this reporter that she is hoping and praying that nothing is wrong with her husband and that he would return safely to her and their three children –(then) eight-month-old Divya, four-year-old Lisa, and six-year-old Sarah. Two years later, yesterday, she reiterated that the same “dream” still lives on in her heart.
Every day, Lisa and Sarah offer prayers for the safe return of their father,” she said, tears in her eyes. I love my daddy and I want him to come home,” little Sarah told this newspaper with a smile yesterday. The smile, though lovely, could not hide the sadness in her eyes, nor the longing for a father’s love that is no longer there.
Over at the Sawh’s house in Non Pariel, the perennial sadness was almost palpable. As soon as Bharrat’s wife saw this reporter entering her yard, the tears came. Though her hopes have faded drastically over the past two years, she refused to accept reality, clinging instead to a glimmer of hope that someday her husband will return - alive.
Sawh’s daughter, Monica, told this newspaper she will “never give up hope”. “Dad, if you are alive somewhere and you got hold of this newspaper, I would like you to know that we love you and we keep watching out for you with tear-filled eyes,” Monica said.
She even wrote another poem for her missing father (the Chronicle had carried one she wrote for her dad on Father’s Day in 2005, shortly after he went missing).
This time, Monica wrote:
Heaven on Earth is at your parents’ feet and a wife’s happiness lies at her husband’s feet,
Dad, today is two years since you have left without a word and took part of our happiness with you
The moon keeps shining, but for us that sheen is covered with dark clouds
We never thought that you would have left us this way
We had hoped to see you getting old , and to fulfill some of our dreams in front of you
Our silent tears kept falling as each moment passes,
Why is it so difficult to find even a strand of your hair?
Today a loving person has disappeared from our lives and we have no idea which direction he went
If you are on earth, all that we hope for is that one day you could walk back into our lives.
If this is impossible, dad, we pray that the supreme Shiva gives your soul eternal peace and takes it to its final destination
We know that God will choose only the best flowers from our garden.
Hope of finding the two men rekindled shortly after they disappeared when the Police and Army began `Operation Hawk-Eye’ in the backlands of several East Coast Demerara villages. But the fruitless operation was later called off. The next step in trying to solve the mystery of the missing sugar workers was clearing the then violence-prone and volatile Buxton backlands, believed to be a safe haven for criminals.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon at one of his weekly post-Cabinet media briefings, had noted that the backlands are believed to be housing criminals and hence, will be cleared.
What has developed over the last two days is some consensus at the level of the security forces to address the area at the back – the backlands at the Vigilance, Friendship, Buxton area-- where there is abundant evidence that it has become one of the hideouts of criminals who have been active in Buxton,” Dr. Luncheon said shortly after the men disappeared.
But despite numerous searches by the Police, residents and fellow sugar workers, there has been no trace of the men, neither has there been any ransom demands.
Hope is the one word that the members of these two families are holding on to today, as they ignore a frightening reality, one that keeps knocking at their mind’s door, one they are far from ready to accept. (Mark Ramotar/Guyana Cronicle)
Wife killer takes his own life
Sona Somwaru
The 43-year-old man who murdered his wife last Thursday night took his own life yesterday morning by ingesting a poisonous substance. His relatives found his body on the Annandale seawall, just a stone's throw away from where his in-laws live.
The body of Sona Somwaru also called 'Donkey man' was discovered around 4 am yesterday. His relatives said he was lying on the seawall and a bottle was seen next to him. His shirt and cap were also nearby.
The man's relatives say that the tragedy occurred because of a triangular love affair. Even though the man's wife, Savitri Somwaru, 39, was living with someone else she still carried on a relationship with her husband of almost 18 years.
"He use to go by she when de man (the woman's lover) gone to sea and she use to wash fuh he and suh, she use to get money from he and dem de still been together," one of his relatives said. But this was vehemently denied by the woman's 65-year-old mother, Reenie Gurdat, who said her daughter left her husband because of years of abuse. She said the man was in the habit of telling the woman's reputed husband that he was the `sweet man' when he was not around and this created problems between the two.
Savitri Somwaru
Savitri, also known as 'Sunita' and 'Soso' was found at around 11:30 on Thursday night by neighbours at her Harban Spoor Dam, West Berbice home bleeding profusely and with a knife in her head. She also had stab wounds to her back and abdomen. The woman had rented a house in the area and lived there with her 25-year-old lover who was out at sea at the time of the incident.
Stabroek News was told that her husband would visit whenever her lover was out. A neighbour had said that on the night of the incident she heard Somwaru and a man arguing but did not pay much attention as it happened often. But she said she ran over after she heard the woman crying out for help.
The woman's house was in darkness and it was after she switched on her torchlight she saw the woman sitting on the concrete slab at the bottom of the stairs with a knife stuck in her temple. Yesterday the woman's mother said she was happy that the man took his own life as she has been living in fear of him since the incident as he had threatened to kill her, her husband and his own teenaged daughter, Anupa, who lives with her.
The man's family yesterday said that they had not seen him since the death of his wife but Stabroek News understands that early Saturday evening a brother was forced to take away three knives from the man since he was threatening to go over to his former mother-in-law's home.
His family said that both parties lived a "bad life" and they also expressed relief that the man killed himself instead of having to "punish… because how long he woulda hide for." According to the man's family they both quarrelled with each other and would fight. One relative said the last time she saw him was last Easter Monday and he had indicated that he would have taken the woman back in time for June.
According to the woman's mother and other relatives since the two got married the woman was subjected to years of abuse because of the man's addiction to drugs. Her mother said she was never in favour of the two getting married because of the man's habits but she abided with it after her daughter showed her intentions. She recalled how she was forced to take their own child since they could not afford to send the girl to school.
The woman said that it was not as if her son-in-law did not work. He worked at sea and would sometimes come home with large sums of money but spent all on his addiction. "You know how he sell out dem things in de house, one time deh had nothing in the house," the woman said. While he did not beat his daughter she was forced to endure the constant conflicts between her parents and witness the physical abuse of her mother. For days she had nothing to eat.
About two years ago the family moved to Corriverton but the abuse continued and subsequently their daughter moved back to Annandale to live with her grandparents and she finally got a job. Her mother on the other hand moved out from her husband about one year ago and started living with someone else. She moved to Cotton Tree and according to her mother the man moved to the area and rented a place too.
The woman's mother also said many days the man would demand money from his daughter, sometimes waiting for her at the corner. She said she is so grateful that her granddaughter did not listen to her father on Thursday afternoon and travel to Berbice. He had called her and told her travel to Berbice since he had something to give her and when she told him she had no money he told her to borrow money from her grandparents.
"Is a good thing she ent go no way because she and all woulda dead," the woman said. "I really feel good dat he dead now. Me go bury me daughter in peace and me ent have to frighten no more."
And even though the couple had a turbulent marriage the two families said they have no problem with each other. So much so the couple would be buried together. "Dem go deh at de same parlour, come up in de same hearse and everything. Only thing he go come by we and she go by she family," the man's relative said. Her mother said they would be buried in the same tomb which would be split in half. "Leh dem go and fight deh," she said sadly. (Stabroek News)
May 20, 2007
Brutal killer suspect spotted
UP AND RUNNING: new traffic lights working at Camp and Regent Streets, Georgetown yesterday. Traffic lights are going up at 50 critical junctions in the city under a US$2.1M scheme by the governments of Guyana and India. Police were yesterday still hunting the suspect in the brutal killing of 40-year old Savitri Samaroo, at her home at Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice, Thursday night.
Relatives of the woman, who died with a knife stuck in her head, said the prime suspect, the husband she left to live with another man, was spotted at Buxton Side Line Dam Friday night.
They fear he may be lurking around with intention to harm his mother-in-law, Chandrawattie Goorudath, and Savitri’s 20-year old daughter as he had been constantly making such threats.
The relatives are calling on the police to be vigilant and find the attacker before greater tragedy is done, since there are reports he may be planning to kill himself, but not before harming the woman and her granddaughter.
Relatives said Savitri’s parents were forced to take the child into their home to keep her safe after the man made the threats. Savitri was found slumped at her home with numerous stab wounds about the body and a knife stuck in her head through the left ear.
Officials said Samaroo was stabbed repeatedly and the knife was plunged and left in her head so forcefully that the handle broke. The murder occurred around 23:00h Thursday shortly after neighbours heard her arguing loudly with a man.
Neighbours said they shortly after heard her screaming for help and on investigating, found her slumped at the bottom of the stairs of her home, bleeding from wounds to her body and head. They took her to the Fort Wellington Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Her father Goorudath, also known as `Duffy’, said his daughter recently ended an 18-year relationship with her husband and had taken up residence in Berbice with another man. Neighbours at Annandale said that since entering the new relationship, Samaroo seemed happier than she normally was and had taken to dressing attractively.
Her mother said that at about 04:00h Friday, she was making pholourie and other snacks which she would sell at the Lusignan Market when Savitri’s neighbours from Cotton Tree called and informed her that she had been murdered. She said arrangements are being made for the burial to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday, since the family cannot afford to keep the body much longer.
However, Savitri’s reputed husband, a fisherman who would have been able to help with funeral expenses, left for sea Monday and does not yet know about her death. As a result, he may not be able to return home for the funeral, relatives said. The second daughter for her parents, Savitri was the fifth of nine siblings. (Guyana Cronicle/Delano Williams photo)
May 19, 2007
Woman stabbed to death at Cotton Tree
Savitri Somwaru
A 39-year-old woman was stabbed to death by a man at Harban Spoor Dam, Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice around 11.30 pm on Thursday, in an apparent fit of jealousy, and police are on the hunt for the man.
Neighbours found Savitri Somwaru, called, 'Sunita' and 'Soso,' a former resident of Annandale Sand Reef, bleeding profusely and with a knife stuck in her temple and protruding through the left side. They also said that her back and abdomen bore stab wounds.
Somwaru had rented a house at Harban Spoor Dam and lived there with her 25-year-old lover, a man known only as 'Press', who was out at sea at the time of the incident.
According to reports, Somwaru's husband, whom she had fled from after years of abuse, would normally visit her when `Press' was away. A neighbour told this newspaper that she heard Somwaru and a man arguing in the house "for quite a while" but did not pay much attention as that happened often. But she ran over to Somwaru's house, which was in darkness, after the woman started screaming for help.
She said she switched on her torchlight and saw Somwaru sitting on the concrete slab at the bottom of the stairs with a knife stuck in her temple. Her head was leaning against a post and she was groaning in pain. The neighbour immediately raised an alarm and other residents ran out. The woman's attacker was nowhere to be seen, but this newspaper learnt that a wristwatch belonging to him was found in the house.
The neighbour said she telephoned for the police who arrived on the scene about one hour later. According to her, the police had not arrived yet when she noticed Somwaru "taking her last breath." She said police took pictures of the scene and left with the woman for the Fort Wellington Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The woman's mother, 65-year-old Reenie Gurdat of Annandale, who is diabetic, said when she got the news around 4 am yesterday her sugar level went up very high. She recalled that her former son-in-law was very abusive to her daughter. Over two years ago the couple and their 18-year-old daughter, Anupa moved from Annandale to live at Corriverton. But the man reportedly continued abusing Somwaru.
She left him over one year ago and moved to Cotton Tree and Anupa went to live with Gurdat. "He always say he gon kill me daughter and Anupa and then kill 'eself." She recalled that around 7 pm on Thursday the man called and asked her to send his daughter to Cotton Tree because he had "some things to give her."
She said when her daughter moved to Cotton Tree her former son-in-law followed her and rented a house there as well. "Me daughter never had a happy life since she marry him. He used to beat she and burn all she clothes and now she lef he and move on and look wha happen," the distraught woman+ lamented. (Shabna Ullah/Stabroek News)
Fisherman sentenced to death for killing wife
Fisherman Doodnauth Ramsaywack nicknamed ‘Vico’ was sentenced to death yesterday for the November 4, 2003 murder of his wife, Ahilla Kuar called ‘Sherry’. Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards pronounced the sentence after a mixed Demerara Assizes jury, of seven women and five men, by their unanimous verdict, convicted the husband of the capital offence.
Earlier, the judge delivered a summation that lasted four hours and the jurors deliberated for two hours. The prisoner, who confessed to stabbing the woman 13 times in a jealous rage and then failed in a suicide attempt, at their Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara home, remained calm during the sentencing.
After being told that his wife was involved with another man, two phone calls to her one night, in his presence, angered the convict and he fatally wounded the woman. But, in his defece, to the case for the Prosecution presented by State Counsel Satyesh Kissoon, Ramsaywack claimed his wife suffered the injuries accidentally when the two of them were fighting over a knife with which she attacked him.
Now destined for ‘death row’, Ramsaywack was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos and other attorney-at-law Ms. Pamela De Santos. In her summing-up, Justice Gregory-Barnes had told the jurors that, if they believed the version narrated by the accused, they would have to find him not guilty of murder and consider the question of manslaughter.
However, if they found that the defence was a set of lies but it, nevertheless, left them in reasonable doubt, they must resolve that issue in favour of Ramsaywack, the judge admonished the panel. (Guyana Cronicle)
Arson murder case begins at Berbice Assizes
Anthony Beharry
Daly was delivering the opening address, to Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes and a mixed jury, at the trial of Anthony Beharry called Toney, who is indicted for unlawfully killing his uncle-in-law, Yusuf Latiff, at Reliance, Canje, on September 20, 2004.
The Prosecutor said, on that day, Beharry was at Lot 51 Reliance, East Canje, where he lived with his mother, Ameena Boodhu and the victim, among others. Daly said Boodhu saw Beharry throwing out a liquid from a one burner stove prior to spreading it around the house and striking a match which set the place ablaze.
According to Daly, after the fire was extinguished, the charred remains of the deceased were removed from the premises.
A Prosecution witness, Monir Rahim recalled identifying the body of his dead cousin to Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan, who perfomed the post mortem examination at the New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary, on September 22, 2004. The prisoner in the dock is being defended by State appointed counsel, Mr. Charran Das Persaud at the continuing trial. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 18, 2007
Dried fish cocaine man jailed Three deny charges.jpg)
The dried fish cocaine accused
The four charged in connection with the biggest drug bust in recent times by the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU), appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle.
They were held after CANU reported finding cocaine valued at more than G$106M in fish being dried casually Wednesday in a yard at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara.
Those charged are Vishnu Bridglall called ‘Halfa,’ 45, of Lot 90 Second and Light Streets, Alberttown, Georgetown; Chandrika Chattergoon, also known as ‘Percy,’ 27, of Lot 185 Charlotte Street, Enterprise; Thakoor Persaud, 32, of Lot ‘K’ Soesdyke, and Azad Khan called ‘Waqar,’ 32, of Lot 6 Madewini, also on the East Bank Demerara.
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CANU claimed they had 86.5 kilogrammes of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking on Wednesday. They allegedly had an additional 20 kilogrammes of the substance on the same day for the same purpose. In court yesterday, Chattergoon pleaded guilty to the two charges but the others denied the allegations.
His lawyer Anil Nandalall said he lives on the premises where the narcotics were found and asked the court to take into consideration the fact that he accepted liability and did not attempt to waste the court’s time.
CANU Prosecutor, Oswald Massiah, said the fact that Chattergoon pleaded guilty does not exonerate the others and asked the court to take into consideration the quantity of the illegal substance when passing judgement.
For Chattergoon, Massiah said he was encouraging the court not to give the minimum sentence and objected to bail for the others. Chattergoon told the court he agreed with everything the Prosecutor said, adding that his alleged accomplices went to buy fish glue and knew nothing about the cocaine.
He was sentenced to four years imprisonment together with $10,000 on each of the charges. The sentences are to run consecutively. The other men were remanded to prison and are to appear at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court, East Coast Demerara on May 24.
Attorney-at-law Mr. Sanjeev Datadin appeared for Bridglall while Nandalall in association with Mr. Euclin Gomes appeared for Chattergoon and Khan. Persaud was represented by other attorneys Mr. Vic Puran and Mr. Mark Waldron. Datadin, applying for bail, said his client is the father of two and a businessman engaged in the export of shark fins and fish glue.
With regard to Khan, Nandalall said the father of two is the only breadwinner for his family. He said Khan was only visiting Enterprise and dropped in to speak with a friend when ranks from CANU appeared. Nandalall asked the court to grant him bail taking into account that another had pleaded guilty and that this was a place to which several persons had access.
Puran, also in a bail application for Persaud, said the fact that Chattergoon accepted responsibility means that there is a guilty principal. He said his client was merely a porter employed by another defendant and knew nothing about the drugs. Puran added that the drugs were obviously not in open view but concealed in a room for which Chattergoon had the keys.
Massiah said that at about 12:30h Wednesday, a group of CANU officers acting on information went to Enterprise where Chattergoon was met in the yard where there is a one-flat building. He said the cocaine was found in four carton boxes in the middle of a bedroom in the house which has three rooms. Massiah said after further searches in the yard, a set of fish glue was found drying under a tree. (Guyana Cronicle)
Farouk Razac death: Lawyers want body exhumed for second post mortem
Lawyers for beauty queen Carolan Lynch, charged with murdering her husband, Swiss House Cambio Managing Director, Farouk Razac, want his body exhumed for a second post mortem examination to determine further the cause of his death.
The appeal, first made by Lynch’s lawyer Nigel Hughes in a letter to Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack, was repeated yesterday when Lynch appeared in court on the murder charge as well as the firearm and ammunition case also slated to be heard again yesterday.
Lynch, 33, of Lot 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, was again before Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys, accused of the May 7 unlawful killing of her spouse to which she was not required to plead. Hughes informed the court that he had sent a letter to the DPP and did not receive a response and, as such, was making an application for the court to rule on the contents of the letter.
In the letter, he said the Defence was instructed that the post mortem examination on the body of the deceased was conducted by Dr. Nehaul Singh on May 8 and feels his findings are critical to the conduct of their client’s case. Hughes said the lawyers were instructed that samples were taken from the body of the deceased, allegedly for further testing.
In the letter, he requested a copy of the post mortem report and medical notes of Singh prior to yesterday’s continuation of the matter in court. Hughes also asked the DPP whether samples were indeed taken from the body of Razac, and if this was so what was the purpose for doing so and the institution to which they will be given for testing.
The lawyer said the defence had received professional medical advice which indicates that the conduct of the second autopsy by an independent medical examiner will provide their client with additional information on the cause of the death of Razac than that which is normally disclosed in a post mortem report.
Under the circumstance, Hughes asked the DPP to issue directions for the exhumation of the body of the deceased for the conduct of a second post mortem examination. In response, Police Inspector Robert Tyndall, prosecuting, stated that the DPP has advised that since this matter is a preliminary inquiry, no copy or certificate should be handed to any person.
He said as such, no statements or documents would be handed over to the Defence until the appropriate time. Hughes argued that Lynch would not be afforded a fair trial if she has to wait on the Prosecution to tell her the real cause of her husband’s death.
He said the post mortem did not have a scientific basis which shows that Razac died of strangulation, adding that the circumstances strongly suggest natural causes. He said he had requested the notes of Singh since he too will be cross-examined.
Hughes urged the court to rule in favour of the Defence getting the samples so that they can have an independent, scientific examination done. He said, however, that by the time the Defence is afforded the opportunity to send the samples, if they are, to an independent laboratory, either inside or out of the country, they would not have a sample that is capable of giving a reliable result.
Magistrate Gilhuys advised the lawyers to move to a higher court to have these issues addressed. He said he could not simply venture into the Constitution though he shares the concerns of the Defence.
He said the Police, when the case came up last week, had promised to report something positive yesterday and encouraged the Prosecutor to make sure he converses with other prosecutors in the future so as to be able to report accurately.
With regard to the gun-related matters, Tyndall said he was withdrawing the case against Farouk Razac but wanted to issue two statements -- one from Shondell Williams, Constable 17913, from the Police Firearms Section, and another from Sherwin Smith, Constable 18372, from the Narcotics branch.
But Hughes responded that the Prosecution’s desire to do so is clearly an attempt to patch up a hopeless case and to bring these statements now would render the case prejudicial and unfair to the Defence. The court, however, ruled that the statements be filed.
The preliminary inquiry into the murder charged against Lynch is to begin on May 21 and she has to be back in court on June 1 for the continuation of the firearm/ammo charge. The other attorney, Mr. Waldron, raised concerns that the lawyers have not been properly able to take instructions from their client and noted that the conditions downstairs at the court lock-ups are not appropriate for speaking with the accused.
He asked the Magistrate to make the necessary orders to have Lynch brought up to another court where they could speak with her. This request was granted and Lynch was brought up back to Court 3 where she and her lawyers met privately.
Prior to his murder, Razac and Lynch were facing summary trial on joint charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition as a result of raids on their home in November last year and were both on bail.
Like last week when Lynch first appeared on the murder charge, curious onlookers yesterday gathered in the court precincts to get a glimpse of the reigning Mrs. South America, who won the title at a pageant in California but was crowned here last October 27. (Telesha Persaud/Guyana Cronicle) Cops to tackle Stabroek Market congestion
PARK CHECK: Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, centre, and Officer in Charge of Police “A” Division Neil Semple, right, at the Stabroek Market bus park yesterday.
The Police Traffic Department is to draft a temporary plan to ease traffic congestion around the Stabroek Market in Georgetown, following a visit there yesterday by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee for a first hand insight of the problem.
The minister, accompanied by Traffic Chief, Roland Alleyne, and Officer in Charge of Police “A” Division Neil Semple, met mini-bus drivers to solicit their views on the difficulties and the sources of the traffic problem.
Rohee told reporters with him that resolving the difficulties has to be a priority as the operations of the Central Fire Station, located in the vicinity, are affected and this is a serious matter. As such, he said, there has to be some urgency in addressing the problem.
A burning issue is that some Route 42 buses do not take turns in the lines in the park earmarked for those vehicles, but their drivers instead take a diversionary path behind the Fire Station, emerging by the Stabroek Market where they solicit passengers, block traffic, and prevent Route 32 buses from getting ample parking space.
At the same time, operators of Route 42 buses which adhere to the line system take a long time to load, making fewer trips and less money. One Route 42 driver said the buses which adhere to the line make one trip for every three trips made by the buses which use the diversionary path.
Rohee said the bottom of the problem is economics but a win/win solution has to be found for everyone where they all “get a piece of the action” but not at the disadvantage of others. He conceded that overcrowding is a problem and the ideal solution would be to give every route/sub-route a specified parking location, but until that situation could be achieved a temporary solution to bring relief has to be found.
The minister said the Traffic Department should be able to come up with a draft plan within two weeks, but stressed that rules will have to be set and stringently enforced to ensure everyone complies. (Guyana Cronicle/Delano Williams photo)
Visa racket gang busted Chinese nationals to be deported
A gang involved in visa racketeering has been nabbed by the Police and 13 Chinese nationals in custody are to be deported, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee announced yesterday.
He told a press briefing at his Georgetown office the gang was involved in accessing false Guyanese visas to enable Chinese nationals enter the country illegally, but the scam was recently detected at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri. He said the gang has been working in collaboration with some locals but indicated that they have not yet been identified.
However, Mr. Rohee explained, three other members of the gang are still at large and their capture will help the Police find leads on who are the locals involved. When this happens, “we will let the chips fall where they may” and institute the full force of the law, he said. Meanwhile, Rohee reported that arrangements are in place for introducing machine readable passports and a July deadline has been fixed but it could happen before then.
He said a team headed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ms. Angela Johnson, recently returned from Canada, where the machine readable passports are being produced, after overlooking the preparatory process and signing the documentation of acceptance.
The Home Affairs Minister feels the greatest challenge to be overcome in implementing the new type of passport is conducting an adequate media campaign to sensitise and educate the public on the matter. In this regard, he said his ministry will embark soon on the campaign to provide the relevant information to the public in a timely manner.
Asked whether the cost of the new passports will be higher than the previous type, he said that at this stage he could not pronounce definitively on this. Rohee also revealed that the postal service is being increasingly abused in the export of illegal drugs from Guyana and as such measures will be implemented to curb this practice. He, however, declined to provide details on the measures.
He noted that the use of the postal service in illegal drug export has been ongoing for a long time but in recent times the scale has been significantly upped, and in accordance with the policy of the government to block the channels of the illicit drug trade wherever it may surface, measures will be instituted in the postal service to nab those involved.
The minister also commended the work of the Joint Services in unearthing and destroying the illegal airstrip in Orealla, Berbice, and appealed to villagers throughout the country to become the “eyes and ears” of their communities.
He added that all those who do not want their communities to be tarnished should give information and cooperate with the security forces instead of colluding with those involved in illegal and criminal activities. (Chamanlall Naipaul/Guyana Cronicle)
May 17, 2007
Big cocaine haul in dried fish
Some of the fish glue displayed at CANU headquarters. To the right are some the packets of cocaine in fish glue. In the foreground, left, are some of the implements used in securing the cocaine. In the background are boxes with the packets of cocaine seized.
The country’s drug enforcement body yesterday hauled in cocaine valued at more than G$106M found in fish being dried casually in a yard at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara and arrested four men.
Officers of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU), acting on information received pounced on the location, 185 Charlotte Street, Enterprise, and found the cocaine, altogether 106.5 kilograms, concealed in fish glue.
The stove the men used in their operation to conceal cocaine in dried fish.
It was evident from the two rolling pins found that those involved placed sealed packets of cocaine, wrapped in plastic and scotch tape, into the fish glue and rolled and sealed it. This was then placed on a wire mesh net out in the open to dry.
In the operation, the men also used a gas stove which was confiscated. According to Nedd, when the CANU ranks showed up at the scene, some of the fish, with the cocaine concealed already, was out in the open drying the same way salted fish is dried.
The four men are likely to be charged, he said. One of the men at whose address the cocaine in fish was found, is a fisherman, while two others are businessmen, one involved in trading. (Guyana Cronicle) Schoolboy found dead in water-filled sand pit.jpg)
Paul McCammon
Dead is Paul McCammon of 342, Section “C” Turkeyen, near Sophia. He was the first of two children for his parents, Michael Ifill of the United States, and Shelby Mc Cammon Ifill, a Typist Clerk at the Ministry of Agriculture, Vlissengen Road, Georgetown.
The grieving mother told the Guyana Chronicle that on Tuesday afternoon she was expecting Paul at her office after school to pick up his six-year-old brother Daniel and take him home.
When Paul did not show up after 16:30h, and as she was running late for classes at the Critchlow Labour College, the mother said she made alternative arrangements for the younger child to be taken home, then went to the college.
On arriving home around 20:00h, she said she learnt that Paul had still not returned home from school. With her mother and other relatives she mounted an intense search which yielded nothing. Shelby said they closed off the search late that night, with a check with the child’s aunt Omalara Blenman’s home in Charlotte Street.
Early yesterday morning they continued the search, Shelby said, and arriving at St. Winifride’s School, she learnt from other children that instead of going home, Paul had gone swimming with other boys from the neighbourhood at the Sophia sand pit.
Mother Shelby McCammon points to where the body of her son was found
Shelby said that on drawing closer, she noticed her son’s clothes, his boots, and school bag bundled on the ground at the edge of the water. She said at first she figured he had seen them and had hidden for fear he would be flogged, but on checking thoroughly found that his books were also missing.
The women questioned the boys about the missing child, but they insisted they had not seen him, but met the clothes on the ground when they got there. She said the boys related that while swimming, they had seen something like a head bob up and down in the deep part of the pit.
The mother said they went to the Sophia Police Station where they made a report and cops accompanied them back to the scene and a search was made. It was just after 11:00h that Paul’s body was discovered in a crouching position under water, she said. (Guyana Cronicle)
Bandit vanishes in swamp after shoot-out with cops -accomplice
Policeman held
The area at the mouth of the Demerara River where the bandits fled.
A bandit dressed in a police uniform vanished in swamps following a shoot-out with cops yesterday while another was held after an attack on a Vreed-en-Hoop pawnshop. The police have meanwhile held one of their own on suspicion of passing the uniform to the bandit.
A statement from the police last night said that around 8.45 am two men armed with guns attempted to rob Giddings Payday Pawn Shop at Vreed-en-Hoop.
The police said that the suspects who were dressed in uniforms worn by some ranks confronted Kelvin Bishop, a supervisor who was about to open the place for business and demanded the keys for the safe.
The statement said that some of the employees who were present raised an alarm. The gunmen then robbed the supervisor of the cell phone and ran towards the Demerara River. The statement added that the police responded and pursued the suspects. "There was an exchange of gunfire. One of the suspects was caught while the other was not found. It is not known whether he was shot or perished in the nearby swamp. Checks in the swamp failed to unearth the suspect", the police said.
The police said they recovered two police uniform shirts and a bag containing a toque and two rolls of duct tape. The police added that they have since detained a member of the force who may have provided the uniform.
The body of the missing man identified only as `Marvin' had not been recovered up to yesterday afternoon, but searches were still being conducted. Police believe the tide, which was receding at the time, might have carried the body away. Both men were said to be from the city and reports indicate that they seemed very young.
Stabroek News was told that the two men had reportedly disembarked a vehicle and entered the pawnshop telling the four employees inside to be quiet. However, one of the male employees escaped and ran to the Vreed-en-Hoop police station to seek assistance. The men demanded the keys from the other employees but they were not handed over and the men then hit one of the employees.
The bandits eventually grabbed a cellular phone from another worker and ran away. But by this time the police had been alerted. They arrived at the pawnshop and found the female employees screaming. A vendor in the vicinity told Stabroek News that one female employee ran to her stall on the road leading to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and begged her to hide her. "She ah tremble bad, bad and tell me fuh hide she; she sey dat them man gon kill she," the woman said.
The men fled in the direction of the Jetty Squatting area and the police quickly followed. Residents said the duo ran through the area pushing persons out of the way. The police pursued the men up to the mouth of the Demerara River, where they had apparently gone to seek refuge. The heavily armed ranks then shot one of the men and captured his accomplice. Both men were in the river at the time. However, the body was not recovered and it is believed that the body sunk and was carried away. His accomplice was removed from the area by boat and carried to the Vreed-en-Hoop police station.
A source told Stabroek News that the guns that the duo was said to be carrying were not recovered and the captured man had reportedly said that he had thrown his gun in the river. The stolen cellular phone was however retrieved from the detained man. After the attempted robbery persons gathered in the area asking what had happened. Persons exclaimed that the "west coast getting dangerous now."
In recent weeks, armed robberies have been occurring on the West Demerara frequently. On May 8, four men armed with handguns had robbed Patsheed and Sons Supermarket located at La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara of money before escaping. Last Monday, a deportee, Paramanand Jaichand appeared at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court charged with assaulting a man while attempting to rob his Meten-Meer-Zorg store.
He was also charged with the unlawful possession of a Luger semi-automatic pistol and 10 rounds of matching ammunition. He pleaded not guilty and Magistrate Fazil Azeez remanded him to prison on the charges. Police Prosecutor Orin Cameron had informed the court that Jaichand had attempted to rob the store but the owner resisted and after the man fled, an alarm was raised and residents captured the man and handed him over to the police.
Additionally, in a similar incident in December last year, police shot dead Ellis Hunte, an Eccles, East Bank Demerara resident, who in a rampage had hijacked several vehicles, and robbed and shot at the drivers before being shot dead.
Meanwhile shortly after yesterday's incident, another Vreed-en-Hoop business place had a laptop computer stolen from the premises by a young man. According to reports, the man had entered the snackette and asked for a drink of water.
The female employee went to get the water and when she returned the laptop was missing and the young man gone. Police are investigating. (Stabroek News/Gaulbert Sutherland)
May 16, 2007
Wanted man held in Ithaca raid
Police find gun, diamonds
The house where the search was conducted
A wanted man was taken into custody along with other persons following a search at a house at Ithaca, West Bank Berbice which unearthed a .32 Millennium pistol and a magazine with 11 matching rounds and three grammes of cannabis.
Acting on information, police from Georgetown made a sweep on the house around 5 pm on Monday and also seized a motorcar, HB 4401, that belongs to the man, six Motorola Razr cell phones and a quantity of gold, diamonds and cash.
This newspaper learnt that the man's close relative was held in connection with the $90M diamond heist recently. Police also suspect that the car may have been part of the "proceeds" from that robbery.
The man's girlfriend, who was caught in a bedroom with him, the owner of the house and his wife along with their two children and two young men from the area were also held. The young men were said to be at the house at the time of the search.
Stabroek News understands that the weapon and drugs were reportedly found in a bedroom in the house. According to reports the man who is from Georgetown told police he purchased the gun from someone for $30,000.
He did not call a name but provided a telephone number for the person. Sources said when police dialled the number from the man's cell phone it turned out to be that of a police officer in Georgetown. There are also reports that the man who is said to be "unemployed" changed cheques almost every other day at the bank.
According to other reports, since the man moved to Ithaca a few months ago many young men were seen visiting the house apparently to purchase cannabis. Meanwhile bandits, armed with a gun and cutlass robbed 44-year-old Omawattie Readi, a market vendor at Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder.
According to reports Readi was leaving her yard just before midnight on Monday when the men pounced on her and robbed her of $37,000. A vehicle that was waiting to pick her up drove to the Whim Police Station to report the incident. No arrests have been made so far. (Stabroek News)
Roger Khan lawyers want experts to examine 'drug dealers' ledger
Lawyers for drug-accused businessman Shaheed Roger Khan want a ledger with the names of several drug traffickers who allegedly worked for the Guyanese to be examined by two experts at their respective laboratories.
Khan's layers are currently perusing discoveries submitted in court by the US Government. The discoveries include cocaine seized and several other documents some of which were retrieved from his various business places and homes.
Among other people, the ledger has the name of Davendra Persaud, a businessman who was gunned down at the Palm Court restaurant back in 2005. Meanwhile, Khan's lawyers' request was made in a letter directed to the US Government and signed by Khan's New York attorney Robert Simels.
In his letter Simels said that with the review of discovery materials, which commenced at Khan's last hearing, the defence intended to request that the 'ledger' be examined by two distinct set of experts. He said the defence would like to determine the government's position with respect to having the original documents provided directly to those experts for laboratory inspections.
The letter was submitted on May 7, but there has been no response as yet. Simels said each of the experts had advised that having the originals available at their laboratories, rather than attempting to take a mobile laboratory to New York would be highly advantageous to their findings. And he said the defence would enter into a stipulation with regard to those periods of time as to chain of custody.
Simels also requested to review the originals of all materials allegedly seized from Khan's office and residence. The lawyers told the US attorneys that if originals were not in their possession, then the defence must be told who has them and arrangements should be made so that they could inspect them.
Simels also said that not all of the scanned materials provided to date were capable of being "opened by the government" and as such there should be additional materials in the possession of those who provided them to the government. Simels contended that the documents are relevant and necessary and thus should be made available to the defence.
Khan is currently before a New York court charged on 18 counts of conspiracy to import cocaine into the US. He is expected to go on trial by the end of August this year. (Stabroek News)
May 13, 2007
Police arrest five
Khemdat SukhulKidnapped businessman Khemdat Sukhul was found clinging to life in Unity Village, Mahaica early yesterday morning with numerous chops about his upper body, but he succumbed less than an hour later.
In a release yesterday the Police Public Relations Office said that so far five persons had been arrested as a consequence of a call which had been traced. In addition, a hire-car driver had been held in connection with information received.
According to the police residents had seen an unlighted minibus reversing into Cremation Road, Unity Village from which something had been dumped. Other reports indicated he had been found in a clump of bushes after his cries for help alerted residents in the wee hours of yesterday morning. They called the police, who transported him to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died.
The police who described him as "fully conscious," said the attempts to question him produced no useful information. At the time Sukhul had been found, the statement said, he was wearing two shirts and a jersey along with dark pants and no shoes. Subsequent investigations, the release continued, revealed that two of the shirts had not been part of his dress at the time of his kidnapping.
Stabroek News was told that the seriously wounded man arrived at the Georgetown Hospital at 4.35 am with chop wounds to the head, neck and back. His right ear was missing, and the police said that he had also sustained a wound to his right ankle. He died around 5.20 am while receiving treatment.
Last Monday the 50-year-old businessman/farmer who lived at Lot 4, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, was snatched from his New Providence office by two gunmen. A female and two other employees were with him at the time.
Reports from the police are that the gunmen entered the office through a door which was unlocked, and held everyone at gunpoint. The gunmen tied the hands and feet of the female and the two males with duct tape. They also gagged the men and then abducted the businessman.
Following the abduction, it was reported that calls had been made to Sukhul's family demanding $25 million as ransom, but the police said yesterday the kidnappers had told the family that the victim had informed them he had $24 million in a safe. However when his mother Ruby Sukhul opened the safe there was no money in it, only documents. The release went on to say that the family did not pay any money.
Since the abduction, the Police Anti-Kidnapping Squad had been working around the clock to free the businessman and his relatives and friends had gathered at the home to keep vigil for his return.
Sources close to the family had told this newspaper that Sukhul lived in England for about ten years, and yesterday his mother said he had re-migrated about 19 years ago to take care of her after his father died. In Guyana he established a sawmill and also did rice farming before turning to logging.
This newspaper was told that he operated a logging concession from which he supplied timber to a local company. "I feel like I could go with him," were the tearfully-spoken words of Ruby Sukhul, speaking to reporters about her son yesterday, which happened to be her birthday. Just the day before, on Friday, she said, while still in captivity, he had called her to wish her a happy birthday.
Yesterday at the Sukhul's Leonora home relatives, neighbours and friends gathered grieving. Sukhul's mother lay prone on her bed, although she consented to speak to reporters. "He deh kind and loving, always used to talk to me so soft," the woman said.
The elderly Sukhul tearfully recounted that her son never answered with just "yes," when she called, but always said "yes Mommy." Relatives said that Sukhul was her "hand and foot" and the woman recounted how he always accompanied her to the doctor and would wait for her and assist her to take her medication.
Meanwhile relatives remembered Sukhul as "generous, loving, caring and very quiet." They recalled that he was always helpful to children and young persons and two of those whom he had mentored were to be seen at the home yesterday.
They both described Sukhul as "more than a brother to us." One of them, a student who had excelled in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certi-ficate (CSEC) examinations last year, stated that he had encouraged her and had ensured that she attended lessons picking her up afterwards.
The other, who is writing the CSEC exams this year, stated that Sukhul also encouraged him. "He was a very helpful person to a lot of people," he said. Relatives, who did not want their names to be revealed, stated that they were scared and described the experience as traumatic.
Police sources on the West Demerara had informed Stabroek News that Sukhul had been a victim of petty thefts over the years and although these matters were minor, he had pursued them relentlessly. (Zoisa Fraser and Gaulbert Sutherland/Stabroek News/photo's: Guyana Cronicle-Stabroek News)
Coast Guard detains fuel vessel
The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard Friday afternoon detained the vessel, MV OLIVER L, anchored some three miles north east of Leguan Island in the Essequibo River with two men on board.
The GDF yesterday said the Coast Guard boarded the vessel, in the presence of the two men, and discovered a quantity of fuel above the normal quantities found on such vessels.
Further investigations revealed that it was modified to accommodate large fuel holding tanks, it reported.
The Army said the vessel was found to have had 550 gallons of gasoline, and in excess of 2,500 gallons of diesoline. The men were questioned but could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the ship’s contents, the GDF said.
It said the law enforcement agencies were contacted and the boat was escorted to the GDF Coast Guard wharf in Georgetown where it was met by senior members of the Coast Guard, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA). The fuel was then tested by the GEA and found to be outside of the legal limits, the Army reported.
The vessel and its contents are being processed by the GEA which is expected to shortly take possession of same, the GDF said. It said one of the men found on the vessel has since been handed over to the Police while the other was yesterday aboard the MV OLIVER L, assisting the Police with the investigations.
The GDF said representatives of the Coast Guard, the Police Force, the GEA, the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit have been meeting regularly to discuss and implement strategies aimed at addressing the smuggling of illegal fuel. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 12, 2007
Wife charged with murder of cambio boss Razac 
Beauty Queen Carol Ann Lynch has been charged with the murder of her husband, Swiss House Cambio Managing Director, Farouk Razac.
The stunning development followed four days of intesnsive investigations by Police since the controversial businessman was pronounced dead at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), after his wife said she had found him on the floor of a bedroom in their Ireng Place, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, home with blood oozing from his mouth.
From the time of Razac’s demise, that shocked the city business community, Lynch had been in custody as Police probed the circumstances. The 33-year-old woman appeared before Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys yesterday, accused of the May 7 unlawful killing of her spouse.
Attorney-at-law, Mr. Nigel Hughes who had moved to the High Court Thursday, for a writ of habeas corpus to have her released, also entered appearance for Lynch also in the lower Court yesterday, in asociation with Mr. Mark Waldron.
Before she was remanded, Hughes said he would expect that the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charge for the capital offence would not be subject to delays and the judicial system not influenced by the Press in what he called “this malicious prosecution.”
Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, prosecuting, did not object to the Defence request for an early hearing. Hughes had also asked that the prisoner on remand be allowed to attend the funeral service for her deceased husband in the afternoon but the magistrate declared he did not want to get involved in the Police administrative duties and suggested they be consulted on the issue.
Hughes made application, too, for Lynch to remain in Georgetown so he could get proper instructions from her instead of having him travel to Berbice, where women prisoners are kept.
Magistrate Gilhuys referred that matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Meanwhile, Lynch broke into tears at one point while Hughes was speaking on her behalf. She will make her next Court appearance on May 17.
Prior to his murder, Razac and Lynch were facing summary trial on joint charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition as a result of raids on their home and were both on bail. As she was escorted on her way to jail in a Police vehicle, curious onlookers gathered in the Court precincts to get a glimpse of the reigning Mrs. South America, who won the title at a pageant in California but was crowned here last October 27. (Guyana Cronicle)
Razac buried at Eccles Muslim Cemetery
The body of Swiss House cambio boss Farouk Razac being removed from the Muslim Youth Organisation compound, Woolford Avenue for burial at the Eccles Muslim Cemetery yesterday.
Razac was buried hours after his widow, Carolan Lynch, was charged with his murder.
Muslim leaders of the Central Islamic Organisation spoke of Razac as being “generous, loving, kind” saying that he assisted in many charitable works, including making donations towards sending children for heart surgery in India. (Guyana Cronicle)
Man who bathed Razac’s corpse killed in road accident
The man who bathed the corpse of murdered businessman Farouk Razac was killed when the motor cycle he was driving collided with a canter on the Montrose Public Road, East Coast Demerara, yesterday. This was not too long after he had prepared Razac’s body for burial at the Queenstown mosque on Church Street.
Dead is Yusuf Khan, 35 of Success, East Coast Demerara. Witnesses said the accident occurred around 11:30 hours. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The man was on his way for customary Friday prayers at the masjid at Success when the accident occurred. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 11, 2007
Farouk Razac murder probe: Brother seeks release of detained wife
A writ of habeas corpus calling for the release from police custody of Carol Ann Lynch, the beauty queen wife of dead Swiss House cambio boss, Farouk Razac, was filed yesterday in the High Court. The legal document was filed by attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes on behalf of Lynch’s brother, Roger Lynch, and at 09:00h today Justice Rishi Persaud will hear arguments in support of the writ.
Lynch remained in custody yesterday since the police detained her Monday evening, hours after her husband was found dead in his Lot 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, home. They had reportedly arrested a number of persons but only Lynch and a male were held as police continue their investigations.
The results of a post mortem conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation showed the businessman died as a result of “asphyxiation (suffocation) due to possible ligature strangulation”, the Police reported.
In the writ, Roger Lynch is contending among other things, that the police never told his sister that she is a suspect in the death of her husband; that due to her continued detention she is unable to look after the welfare of the couple’s daughter, and the security of their Bel Air Park home.
Razac, who was popular in the sporting fraternity as the leading promoter in the Kashif and Shanghai football tournament, will be buried today according to Muslim rites at the Muslim cemetery, Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
Prior to burial, the Swiss House boss’s body would be available for viewing at his parents’ Middle Road, La Penitence home, and then at the Muslim Youth Organisation ground at Thomas Lands, Georgetown. Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday acknowledged that the death of Razac “is of some interest to the administration”.
He, however, told reporters at his weekly post-Cabinet news conference the administration has not received any formal briefing on the matter from the Police and as such is not in a position to comment on the matter.
“…this is a matter of some interest to the administration but I think you should take it as a pretty commendable quality that in such matters, not until the administration is in possession of either formal briefings or what we would refer to as a quality report on matters that the police would want to bring to our attention (would we want to comment),” Luncheon said.
His comments were in response to a question from a reporter on whether the administration was briefed on the ongoing investigations into the death of the businessman who has had several run-ins with the law and alleged drug connections which the government is committed to fighting.
In an initial report on Razac’s sudden death, Police on Monday said when he was discovered, “blood was seen oozing from his mouth and his hands were around his neck. A television which was usually at the foot of the bed was found on the floor”.
Police said further examination of his body revealed a small wound on his head and marks around his neck. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where the wife had taken him, but police said a doctor there felt he may have been dead some time before he was taken to the hospital.
Police reported that the home where the couple resided with their daughter was guarded by security and that there were no signs of forced entry.
Razac, who has had a controversial past, and his beauty queen wife were before the court on charges of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition following raids on several homes in Georgetown which netted a gun, explosives, ammunition and cocaine. Razac was out on $1M bail while Lynch was granted $500,000 bail.
The case in which Police have accused the now dead Razac and Lynch of, on November 10 last, at the Bel Air Park home, unlawfully having four 9mm magazines, being component of a firearm, as well as a Beretta automatic pistol, is scheduled to be heard again this month. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 10, 2007
Cops intensify probe into Razac death
Police yesterday intensified investigations into the death of Swiss House cambio boss Farouk Razac after a post mortem found he was strangled, and they continued to hold his beauty queen wife Carol Ann Lynch and another suspect for questioning.
Razac’s relatives have made funeral arrangements for tomorrow according to Muslim rites. His body would be put for viewing at the Muslim Youth Organisation ground at Thomas Lands, Georgetown before he is buried at the Eccles Muslim cemetery, East Bank Demerara.
Lynch was taken into custody Monday evening hours after her husband was found dead in his Bel Air Park, Georgetown home and the Police Tuesday said she was one of two persons assisting with investigations.
Police said a post mortem conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation showed the businessman died as a result of “asphyxiation (suffocation) due to possible ligature strangulation.” Ligature strangulation refers to strangling with some form of cord or cloth such as rope, wire, or shoe laces, either partially or fully around the neck.
In their initial report on Razac’s sudden death, the Police Monday said when he was discovered, “blood was seen oozing from his mouth and his hands were around his neck. A television which was usually at the foot of the bed was found on the floor”. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police said further examination of his body revealed a small wound on his head and marks around his neck. A doctor at the GPHC, Police said, felt he may have been dead some time before he was taken to the hospital. The Bel Air house was guarded by security and there were no signs of forced entry, Police reported.
Razac and Lynch were before the court on charges of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition following raids on several homes in Georgetown which netted a gun, explosives, ammunition and cocaine. Razac was out on $1M bail while Lynch was granted $500,000 bail.
Police said that on November 10 last, at his Lot 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air Park home, Razac unlawfully had four 9mm magazines, being component of a firearm. The second firearm charge said he also had a Beretta Automatic pistol. In addition, Razac was charged with unlawfully having 120 rounds of 9mm ammunition. (Guyana Cronicle)
Razac might have died hours before taken to hospital
Police told
Cambio dealer Farouk Razac more than likely died several hours before he was taken to the Georgetown Hospital on Monday morning, the doctor who pronounced him dead was said to have told the police. And bits of the businessman's skin were found under his fingernails, the autopsy conducted on Tuesday has also revealed. Last night police were examining leads that Razac might have been trying to free his neck as he was being strangled, hence the skin under his fingernails.
Razac had marks around his neck at the time he was discovered and his hands were also around his neck. He died as a result of asphyxiation due to possible ligature strangulation, according to the autopsy. Sources say that the ligature could have been removed without disturbing Razac's hands around his neck.
Police up to press time last night were still questioning Razac's wife, Carolan Lynch and her physical trainer both of whom were in the house at the time when the cambio dealer was discovered dead on the floor of his bedroom. Police had also taken into custody the businessman's security guards and questioned them, but they have been released. Lynch and the physical trainer have been in custody since Monday afternoon.
Sources close to the businessman's relatives told reporters that Razac had taken out a US$1M insurance with an insurance company overseas. This newspaper also understands that Razac had taken home US$400,000 cash, property of Swiss House Cambio, but this money cannot be accounted for so far. Reports are that relatives of the dead man are trying to ascertain who the local agent of the insurance company is as well as to determine where the US currency might be. The businessman is to be laid to rest tomorrow according to muslim rites.
Meanwhile, relatives would not say what they suspect might have caused the man's death. Stabroek News was told that there were no guards on duty at Razac's Ireng Place, Bel Air Park home on Sunday night.
According to information, Lynch has told police that she left her house around 8 am to take her child to school. When she returned the physical trainer arrived and she was preparing to go through her exercise routine. She however realized at that point that Razac who normally leaves for work between 6 am and 7 am had not come downstairs. It was then that he was discovered. He would have been taken to the hospital around 8.45 am.
Fazeel Razac, the dead man's brother had told reporters on Monday that his brother was hypertensive and died as a result of that condition. Relatives were mulling whether to contract a private pathologist to conduct a second autopsy, but this according to reports is no longer under consideration. Instead, they will send tissue samples for toxicological testing overseas.
Farouk Razac was recently before the court along with Lynch on gun and ammunition charges. They were charged jointly with two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from a November 10 raid on their Bel Air property. They were granted $1 million bail each and the case is currently being tried. One of four witnesses has already testified in the case.
The raid on Razac's property was said to have followed an earlier search conducted on a house in North Ruimveldt where a young woman, Rhonda Gomes, an associate of the businessman, was living. At Gomes' home, police found an assortment of weapons and cocaine. Gomes had pleaded guilty to several charges brought against her stemming from the discoveries and was sentenced to three years in prison last year December.
Razac was also detained last year May during the joint services' robust search in the city following the theft of 30 AK-47 rifles from the army storage bond at Camp Ayanganna. He had been at the helm of Swiss House Cambio for several years after the business which started out as a watch repair shop was handed down to him from his father.
Police in a statement on Monday disclosed that Lynch discovered the businessman crouched on the floor. Blood was oozing from his mouth and his hands were around his neck, the police statement said, adding that a television set, which is usually at the foot of the bed, was found on the floor. The police said Razac was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The statement added that further examination of his body revealed a small wound on his head and marks around his neck and that a doctor at the GHPC opined that he might have died before arriving at the hospital. The doctor according to sources did indicate to the police that Razac might have died some four hours before arriving at the hospital. This would put his death around 5 am that morning.
According to reports the doctor could not put this in his report as he was not a pathologist. Razac was taken to the hospital mortuary and the autopsy was conducted the next day but by this time it would have been difficult for Dr. Nehaul Singh who conducted the post-mortem to determine how long before arrival at the hospital the man might have died because the body had been frozen. Police further stated that Razac's house was guarded and there were no signs of forced entry. (Stabroek News)
Men fined $20,000 each for 'backtracking' to Suriname
Magistrate Krishndat Persaud on Monday fined five men $20,000 each after they pleaded guilty to departing Guyana illegally for Nickerie, Suriname, when they appeared at the Number 51 Court to answer to the charge.
According to court reports Nankumar Persaud, Mohamed Haniff, Safraz Khan, Mark Phillips and Ramesh Persaud were fined and given an alternative of six weeks imprisonment.
Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Michael Grant, told the court that between January 2 and April 27, at the Number 78 Foreshore the men departed Guyana through the backtrack route. He said the men were reportedly caught in Suriname and sent back home. (Stabroek News)
May 09, 2007
Insurance murders
Accused trying to block Bin Laden tape
Richard James Ronald Mallay
The Guyanese duo going on trial in New York today for a series of insurance scam murders in the US and Guyana are trying to block the inclusion of taped conversations in which they allegedly plot the death of their victims.
In motions to Eastern District Court Judge Sterling Johnson Jr., Richard James and Ronald Mallay have moved to exclude all the tapes. On Monday, an attorney for James petitioned to suppress a reference to 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden that was recorded during the government's surveillance of his conversation with an informant.
James and Mallay are contending that there is a complete "lack of relevance" to issues of the charge and admission of the reference "substantially outweighs" any marginal cumulative assistance to the case.
James, 46, and Mallay, 61, could face the death penalty if convicted on the federal murder charges for the deaths of four people. Investigators have said the duo may have killed several more people in a scheme to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from life insurance policies the victims never knew about.
According to the government's transcript, James tells a wired informant, Derek Hassan, that, "The mistake that Bin Laden did the other day when he sent a fing plane at fing ... Rocka-way, I wanted him to send it at Liberty Avenue from Lefferts to 130."
US District Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf argues that the comment is relevant because it is direct evidence of the scope of the fraud. Further, she submits that the statement provides an insight into his motivation and the ease with which he contemplated the deaths of innocents for his profit.
Mauskopf also observes that in their motions to suppress, the lawyers for the accused claim that if the recordings were played in their entirety the jury would realise that many of the conversations did not concern murder-for-hire; rather, they were related to an immigration practice known as 'backtracking' (illegal migration.) Mauskopf says the government subsequently learnt that their 'backtracking' referred to the acquisition of a life insurance policy already in existence on an old or infirmed in order to profit upon the insured's death.
Mauskopf adds that James' statements in no way endorses the work of Bin Laden or implies any support for terrorism. Instead, she says "it provides direct evidence regarding the ease with which James contemplates the death of innocent insureds for his personal profits. In the instant case, where the defendant will be repeatedly arguing that there was no sinister motive attached to his fraudulently insuring unwitting individuals, this statement will directly address the defense."
But according to James' attorney, Ephraim Savitt, admission of "such highly prejudicial and barely probative" evidence will inject an unfairness in this capital trial in derogation of the defendants' due process protection that cannot be remedied by limiting instructions. Savitt discredits the contention that James would have profited by the wholesale elimination of an entire neighbourhood.
In response to the claim that it describes the massive scope of James' scheme, he points out that Alfred Gobin and Hardeo Sewnanan, both of whom died in Guyana, don't fit within the Richmond Hill geographical boundary des-cribed by the government. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that the subject of the James-Hassan tapes, John Narinesingh, purportedly lived in Morningside Heights in Manhattan.
James - a former insurance agent known for hosting a cable television show featuring Guyanese music and dance - and Mallay, an ex-postal worker, have been formally accused in the poisoning and shooting deaths of four people, two in the United States and two in Guyana, since the 1990s.
Court papers allege US$300,000 was collected from the death of Mallay's nephew in Guyana, after he was plied with alcohol and ammonia. The 1993 shooting death of Mallay's brother-in-law also was part of the conspiracy, investigators said.
The MetLife insurance company discovered the scheme after noticing that 21 death claims had been filed from policies written by James within a few years. The rate was about 318% higher than expected and a large number of deaths were violent or under unusual circumstances.
MetLife subsequently fired James in July 2000 and notified authorities, who put him under surveillance. In 2002, he was on audiotape trying to pay an informant US$25,000 to kill another victim with a cocktail of alcohol and drugs to collect insurance, court papers said. "The higher the dose, the better," he allegedly told the informant.
Before the plot could be carried out, agents arrested James trying to flee to Guyana with a large amount of cash. Both he and Mallay were ordered held without bail after pleading innocent to federal murder conspiracy charges. (Stabroek News)
Razac was strangled to death Post mortem finds
Farouk Razac Carol Ann Lynch
Swiss House cambio boss Farouk Razac was strangled to death, a post mortem conducted yesterday found, and his beauty queen wife Carol Ann Lynch and another person were in custody assisting Police with investigations.
Police last evening said the businessman who was found dead at his Bel Air Park, Georgetown home Monday morning, died as a result of “asphyxiation (suffocation) due to possible ligature strangulation.” Ligature strangulation refers to strangling with some form of cord or cloth such as rope, wire, or shoe laces, either partially or fully around the neck.
Police said one of the two persons assisting with the investigations is Carol Ann Lynch, the popular beauty queen who was married to the well-known city businessman. They were both before the court on charges of possession of illegal firearm and ammunition.
In their initial report on Razac’s sudden death, the Police Monday said when he was discovered, “blood was seen oozing from his mouth and his hands were around his neck. A television which was usually at the foot of the bed was found on the floor”.
He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said further examination of his body revealed a small wound on his head and marks around his neck.A doctor at the GPHC, Police said, felt that he may have been dead some time before he was taken to the hospital.
The Bel Air house was guarded by security and there were no signs of forced entry, Police reported. Razac and Lynch were before the court on charges of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition following raids on several homes in Georgetown which netted a gun, explosives, ammunition and cocaine. Razac was out on $1M bail while Lynch was granted $500,000 bail.
Police said that on November 10 last, at his Lot 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air Park home, Razac unlawfully had four 9mm magazines, being component of a firearm. The second firearm charge said he also had a Beretta Automatic pistol. In addition, Razac was charged with unlawfully having 120 rounds of 9mm ammunition. (Guyana Cronicle)
Police probing kidnapping report
Police yesterday said they were probing the reported kidnapping Monday of farmer/businessman Khemdat Sukhul, also known as ‘Michael’, 50, of Lot 4 Leonora Public Road, West Coast Demerara. Police said that at about 18:15h Monday, he was abducted from his office at Lot 3 New Providence, East Bank Demerara, by two gunmen.
Police said one of the gunmen was Afro-Guyanese, dark, about 5ft 8 inches tall and medium built, while the other was of mixed origin, fair, about 5ft 6 inches tall and stout. Sukhul was at his office with his girlfriend and two male employees when the men entered the office through a door which was not locked and held them at gunpoint, Police said.
They tied the hands and feet of the girlfriend and the two males with duct tape, gagged the men and left with the businessman, Police reported. Police said several calls were made yesterday to relatives of the businessman demanding a ransom for his release.
Police, in response to the report, have launched an investigation and the Anti-Kidnapping Team has been activated to deal with the situation. Additionally, several composite teams have been mobilised and are conducting search operations aimed at reuniting the businessman safely with his family, Police said.
One man is in custody and the Police are asking anyone who may know the whereabouts of the businessman to contact them on telephone numbers: 227-6123, 226-6978, 225-8196 and 225-2227 or the nearest Police Station. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 08, 2007
Farouk Razac found dead in home
Wife detained for questioning
Farouk Razac
Owner of Swiss House Cambio, Farouk Razac was yesterday morning found dead in his Ireng Place, Bel Air home with a wound to his head and marks around his neck. Police have since detained his beauty queen wife, Carolan Lynch for questioning.
Up to press time last night, Lynch who had earlier expressed her desire to bury her husband within 24 hours, according to Muslim ritual, was in police custody as the investigation continued. Police sources last night said the manner of the businessman's death was suspicious and a post-mortem examination, set for tomorrow, would likely provide answers.
Razac's relatives were adamant that the man died of natural causes, as he was hypertensive and had been unwell for some time. But a police statement issued last evening said the cambio dealer had a small wound on his head and marks around his neck.
According to the police statement, enquiries have revealed that Razac's wife discovered him around 8.30 am yesterday crouched on the floor. Blood was oozing from his mouth and his hands were around his neck, the police statement said, adding that a television set, which is usually at the foot of the bed, was found on the floor. The police said Razac was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
"Further examination of his body revealed a small wound on his head and marks around his neck," the police statement said. It added that a doctor at the Georgetown Hospital opined that he might have died before arriving at the hospital. Police further stated that Razac's house was guarded by security and there were no signs of forced entry.
Earlier yesterday, Razac's brother, Fazeel Razac told reporters outside the Georgetown Hospital that Farouk had high blood pressure, which might have caused an artery in his head to burst.
This newspaper was told that Lynch had left the couple's home around 8 am yesterday to take their daughter to school. When she returned around 8.30 am, she found her husband lying on the floor with blood oozing from his nose. Neighbours said Razac was seen in his yard walking yesterday morning.
The scene at the Georgetown Hospital was one of shock and grief as word got around that the Swiss House Cambio boss had died. Scores of people flocked the hospital's emergency entrance. Football promoter Kashif Muhammed, freed murder accused, Shawn Hinds, said to be one of Razac's bodyguards, and several other people, some with suspected links to the criminal underworld were at the hospital.
Lynch inconsolable, had escorted Razac to the hospital, and when he was pronounced dead she fainted and had to be revived. Relatives and friends surrounded the beauty queen whose eyes were swollen from the tears.
Sources told Stabroek News that towards the end of last month, Razac was hospitalized at Dr Balwant Singh's Hospital. This newspaper was told that his condition was serious and relatives had said then that he would have been flown abroad for further medical attention, but apparently, that was not done.
Charges
Farouk Razac began to have brushes with the law as early as 1996 when he was jointly charged with businessman, Bramhanand Nandalall with trafficking in cocaine. It was alleged that between October 1995 and December 1996, the two businessmen conspired together with others unknown to traffic in five kilos of cocaine in Georgetown.
Police had said back then that the arrests were part of a continued joint probe by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Guyana Police Force, which had also led to the arrest of seven persons including a Colombian and a policeman. The seven, including a woman, were arrested at the end of a joint anti-narcotics probe conducted by members of the RCMP and local police. They were charged with conspiring with others to import 50 kilos of cocaine into Guyana.
Investigators during their probe had targeted suspected drug organizations in Guyana and Canada that were exporting Colombian cocaine into Guyana through Brazil and Venezuela and re-exporting it to Canada. Razac also faced charges of tax evasion in 2000.
Razac was before the court along with Lynch on gun and ammunition charges. They were charged jointly with two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from a November 10 raid on their Bel Air property. They were granted $1 million bail each and the case is currently being tried. One of four witnesses has already testified in the case. Razac and Lynch had been charged indictably initially but later the matter was re-read summarily and they pleaded not guilty.
A person found guilty of a firearm offence on an indictable charge faces a jail term of not less than seven years while taken summarily a conviction could result in a sentence of not less than three years imprisonment.
Police in an early morning raid last year November at Razac's Ireng Place, Bel Air home found four 9 mm magazines, one Beretta automatic pistol and 120 9 mm rounds of ammunition. The raid on Razac's property was said to have followed an earlier search conducted on a house in North Ruimveldt where a young woman, Rhonda Gomes, an associate of the businessman, was living.
At Gomes's home, police found: one AK-47 rifle; one Chinese automatic assault rifle with improvised suppressor; two bullet-proof vests (one with Ceramic plate); three fragmentation grenades; one concussion grenade; 1,192 rounds 7.62 x 39 ammunition; 19 7.62 magazines; 77 rounds of .38 special ammunition; 245 rounds of 9 mm ammunition; 20 rounds of .380 ammunition; one round .38 ordinary ammunition; 14 rounds of .30 ammunition; 35 rounds of .32 ammunition; one round of .22 ammunition; 47 12-gauge cartridges; one pistol magazine; one pistol holster and 10.9 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Gomes had pleaded guilty to several charges brought against her stemming from the discoveries and was sentenced to three years in prison last year December.
Controversy
The cambio dealer had been at the centre of controversy last year March when the joint services raided his Water Street business and his house following the theft of 30 AK-47 rifles from the army storage bond at Camp Ayanganna. During the search, Razac had been arrested and was kept in custody for three days at the Brickdam Police Station.
Razac had been the helm of the Swiss House Cambio for several years after the business, which started out as a watch repair shop, was handed down to him from his father.
At the height of the death squad fiasco in 2004, self-professed death-squad informant, George Bacchus had told the media that he had gone to the US Embassy in Georgetown and officials there showed him a photo of wanted terrorist, Adnan Gulgair El-Shukrijumah who is said to have Guyanese roots and was at one time said to be hiding out between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Bacchus said then that he was 90% certain that he had seen El-Shukrijumah at Razac's Swiss House Cambio business place, but when Razac was contacted on the issue, he denied knowing the terrorist. He however acknowledged that his father knew El-Shukrijumah's father when he was living in Guyana prior to him leaving for Saudi Arabia. (Nigel Williams and Zoisa Fraser / Stabroek News)
May 04, 2007
'Ole Higue' saga victim gets emotional farewell
SAYING FAREWELL: Husband Ram Singh and others at the funeral service yesterday for Radika Singh
Radika Singh, the 55-year-old woman beaten to death in the `Ole Higue’ saga at Bare Root, East Coast Demerara, was laid to rest yesterday amidst more drama.
The deceased, of Lot 713 Phase One, Good Hope, also on the East Coast, was buried after an emotionally charged funeral service conducted by Bishop Terrence Jaskaran, of Bible Victory New Testament Church of God, of which she was a member.
During the proceedings, at the home of her sister, Lot 105 Mon Repos, some relatives were inconsolable as they viewed the broken corpse in the coffin and wept openly while others screamed her name. The dead woman’s husband, Ram Singh, 51, as well as her neighbours, touched her face and held her body as they cried. People who did not know the woman expressed their condolences, too.
Her son, Mahendra was not at their home where she was taken for viewing but, after a fight broke out, the remains were hurriedly transferred to her sister’s residence. Singh’s bloodied body was found on the roadside at Bare Root last Saturday morning after an alarm was raised claiming she was an ‘Ole Higue’ who sucks the blood of human babies. A post mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of haemorrhage due to blunt trauma in the head.
Two men and a woman, Roland Spencer, 41, Rayon Bobb, 28 and Alita Roberts, 25, were charged for the unlawful killing and appeared at Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court on the murder charge Wednesday. All from East Coast Demerara, as well, they were remanded to prison by Magistrate Yohance Cave until May 10. (Guyana Cronicle)
Guyana/Suriname border dispute UN tribunal decision expected August
The United Nations International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea based in Hamburg is expected to hand down its decision on the Guyana/Suriname border dispute this August, Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said yesterday.
He told a press conference at the Foreign Service Institute in Georgetown it was anticipated that the decision would have been given during the first quarter or thereabout of this year, but due to some practical procedural matters which have to be finalised, there has been some delay in bringing conclusion to the matter.
Following the forceful eviction by Suriname of the oil exploration company Canada-based CGX in June 2000, claiming that the company had encroached Surinamese territorial waters in its offshore drilling, Guyana resorted to take the matter to the tribunal after bilateral and other negotiations failed to resolve the issue in a mutually satisfactorily way.
However, President Bharrat Jagdeo recalled that the issue of reaching an arrangement with its eastern neighbour to develop the hydrocarbon potential of the area in dispute was pending for 15 years despite patient negotiations to have the matter amicably resolved.
Guyana’s legal team pursuing its case at the tribunal is being spearheaded by Sir Shridath Ramphal, a former Foreign Minister; and also comprises Mr. Paul Reichler of the Washington law firm of Foley Hoag and Dr. Payam Akhavan of Yale Law School.
During a visit to Guyana in August 2004 to brief the government of developments surrounding the legal proceedings of the case, Sir Shridath had expressed optimism of a favourable settle of the dispute. He had also indicated that the team was working hard to prepare Guyana’s case, and this involves consulting with a wide range of persons who are directly and indirectly connected to the case.
Sir Shridath also assured that the decision of the tribunal will be binding and final, ending uncertainty on a matter which, if allowed to continue, could be detrimental to the development of natural resources and the economic development of both countries.
The Government of Guyana officially informed its Surinamese counterpart on February 24, 2004 of its decision to pursue the matter at the level of the tribunal to give a binding decision on the maritime boundary between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) neighbours.
Meanwhile, Mr. Insanally responding to reports that the Venezuelan Foreign Minister had expressed his government’s wish to resolve the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, through bilateral negotiations, indicated that Guyana has to decide what is in its best interest but has committed itself by the Geneva agreement to have matter dealt with through the UN process. However, he said, Guyana is willing to listen to proposals by Venezuela. (Chamanlall Naipaul / Guyana Cronicle)
High crime rates hurting Caribbean growth World Bank says drugs trafficking at core of problems
High rates of crime and violence in the Caribbean are undermining growth, threatening human welfare and impeding social development, according to a new report released yesterday by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report, titled ‘Crime, Violence and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean’, said narcotics trafficking is at the core of the high rates of crime and violence in the region. It said narcotics trafficking diverts criminal justice resources from other important activities, increases and embeds violence, undermines social cohesion and contributes to the widespread availability of firearms in the region.
Noting that crime impacts business and is a major obstacle to investment, the report pointed out that in many countries, as crime increases, access to financing declines; spending on formal and informal security measures increases; and worker productivity declines.
Wedged between the world’s source of cocaine to the south and its primary consumer markets to the north, the Caribbean is the transit point for a torrent of narcotics, with a street value that exceeds the value of the entire legal system,” the report stated.
Compounding their difficulties, Caribbean countries have large coastlines and territorial waters and many have weak criminal justice systems that are easily overwhelmed,” the report added. It also said murder rates in the Caribbean are higher than in any other region of the world, and assault rates are significantly above the world average.
Estimates also suggest that reducing the homicide rate in the Caribbean by one third could more than double the region's rate of per capita economic growth.
The World Bank/UNODC report was officially launched yesterday morning at the World Bank’s headquarter building in Washington, DC, and transmitted live via video conferencing to journalists in Guyana and Jamaica (the two countries in the Caribbean where World Bank offices are located) and other areas outside the region, including Florida and Washington in the U.S.
World Bank Director for the Caribbean, Ms. Caroline Anstey, who chaired the launching ceremony in Washington, said the report clearly shows that crime and violence are development issues and that donors and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries need to work together with Caribbean countries to reduce the current levels in the region.
Some of the factors that make the Caribbean most vulnerable to crime and violence, mainly the drug trade and trafficking of weapons, require a response that transcends national and even regional boundaries,” she said. She also made it clear that crime and violence are not exclusive to the Caribbean since these are issues that affect rich and poor countries alike, around the world.
UNODC Director, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, Mr. Francis Maertens, said although there is no one "ideal" approach for crime and violence prevention, interventions such as slum-upgrading projects, youth development initiatives and criminal justice system reform can contribute to reducing the scourge.
He noted that the report draws on input from governments, civil society organisations and Caribbean experts, and presents detailed analyses of crime and violence impacts at the national and regional levels. It also provides information on good practice approaches from global experiences and offers concrete actions and recommendations on crime prevention and crime reduction strategies, he said.
REDUCE DEMAND IN CONSUMER COUNTRIES
The World Bank/UNODC report argued that while Caribbean countries are transit points and not producers of cocaine, interdiction needs to be complemented by other strategies outside the region - principally demand reduction in consumer countries and eradication and/or alternative development in producer countries.
It said gun ownership is an outgrowth of the drug trade and, in some countries, of politics and associated garrison communities. Although reducing gun ownership is difficult, the report said better gun registries, marking and tracking can help, as can improved gun interdiction in ports. Policies should also focus on limiting the availability of firearms and on providing meaningful alternatives to youth, it said.
The report said deaths and injuries from youth violence constitute a major threat to public health and social and economic progress across the Caribbean, and youth are disproportionately represented in the ranks of both victims and perpetrators of crime and violence.
With regards to deportees, the report said although the average Caribbean deportee is not involved in criminal activity, a minority may be causing serious problems, both by direct involvement in crime and by providing a perverse role model for youth. The report recommended that more services be offered to reintegrate deportees, with deporting countries contributing to the cost of these programmes.
In general, the report said there is an over-reliance on the criminal justice system to reduce crime in the region. At the same time, it must be recognised that some types of crime such as organised crime, drug and firearms trafficking are generally impervious to prevention initiatives and their control requires an efficient criminal justice system.
It said urgent priorities for improving the criminal justice system in the region include the development of management information systems, tracking of justice system performance, monitoring of reform programmes and increased accountability to citizens.
According to the report, several countries are increasingly investing in crime prevention, using approaches such as integrated citizen security programmes, crime prevention through environmental design, and a public health approach that focuses on risk factors for violent behaviours. These alternative approaches have significant potential to generate decreases in both property crime and inter-personal violence, it reasoned.
The World Bank/UNODC report also said youth violence is a particularly serious problem in the region, and youth homicide rates in several countries of the Caribbean being significantly above the world average.
To address issues of youth violence, Caribbean policymakers should invest in programmes that have been shown to be successful in careful evaluations such as early childhood development and mentoring programmes; interventions to keep high risk youth in secondary schools; and opening schools after hours and on weekends to offer additional activities and training.
The report also said many of the issues facing the Caribbean transcend national boundaries and require a coordinated regional and international response. Crime and violence are not immutable (and) while the Caribbean faces serious challenges, especially in the areas of drugs, guns, and youth violence, informed policies at the national, regional and international levels can make a significant difference,” the report posited.
RAPE and VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The report also noted that violence against women affects a significant percentage of women and girls in the Caribbean. According to the latest available data from UNODC’s Crime Trends Survey (CTS), which is based on police statistics, three of the top ten recorded rape rates in the world occur in the Caribbean.
The report said all countries in the Caribbean for which comparable data are available – Bahamas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago – experienced a rate of rape above the un-weighted average of the 102 countries in the CTS.
Police statistics offer only a very imperfect picture of violence against women, since the majority of these incidents are not reported to police and increased trust in police will increase reporting,” it said. Despite their diversity, one thing all Caribbean countries have in common is that they have long been caught in the crossfire of international drug trafficking (but) the good news is that the flow of drugs through the region may be decreasing,” the report said.
The trans-shipment of cocaine to the United States, the most significant flow in economic terms, appears to be in decline (while) cannabis production for export from Jamaica, the largest cannabis producer in the region, appears to be in a slump,” it added.
Despite these recent shifts, the report said large quantities of drugs continue to transit the Caribbean. In 2005, it is estimated that about 10 tonnes of cocaine transited through Jamaica alone, while about 20 tonnes passed through Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In addition to drug trafficking, the report said kidnapping and corruption are other forms of organised crime which affect the region. It pointed out Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago as two countries that have seen recent and rapid increases in kidnapping.
Alluding to the fact that corruption is a difficult crime to measure, the report said while there are methodological concerns about Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), it remains the standard for international corruption comparisons and boasts one of the few datasets with near-global coverage.
The report said it is important to note that many of the issues facing the Caribbean transcend national boundaries and require a coordinated regional response. Demand for drugs emanates from Europe and the United States; deportees are sent back to the region from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada; and many weapons that are trafficked are sourced from the United States,” the report stated. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 03, 2007
Three charged in ‘Ole Higue’ murder
Roland Spencer Rayon Bobb
Police yesterday charged three persons with the murder of the 55-year-old woman who was beaten to death in the ‘Ole Higue’ saga at Bare Root, East Coast Demerara last week.
The accused, 41-year-old contractor Roland Spencer also known as ‘Brother,’ of Lot 87 Haslington; Rayon Bobb, 28, a cane cutter, of Lot 275 Bare Root and Alita Roberts, 25, of the same village, appeared before Magistrate Yohannse Cave yesterday, at Sparendaam Court, also on the East Coast.
It is alleged that they killed Radika Singh called ‘Chan’ on April 28 and were remanded to prison until May 10 when they would make another appearance at Vigilance Court, in the same magisterial district.
Singh, a psychiatric patient, of Lot 713 Phase One, Good Hope, another East Coast Demerara village, was fatally beaten because Bare Root residents believed she was an ‘Ole Higue’, a mythical woman which sucks the blood of human babies.
Her brutalised, bloodied body was found at the roadside in Bare Root last Saturday morning after she had, again, wandered away from home. Police said a post mortem examination showed she died from haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head. (Guyana Cronicle)
Victim in 'Ole Higue' saga to be buried today
Grieving husband Ram Singh yesterday
Relatives and neighbours yesterday said she was depressed but very quiet. She had been depressed for years and for two years lived with her sister at Lot 105 Mon Repos, also on the East Coast Demerara. They said she returned home to her husband and 19-year-old son, Mahendra, when her mental condition improved.
The woman frequented the Mon Repos Market and surrounding area where she was well-known, they said. She was beaten back of Bare Root, another East Coast village, Saturday last by residents when an alarm was raised that she was an `Ole Higue’, a woman those who believe in superstition claim lives on sucking blood of babies and little children.
Relatives said Singh joined the Psychiatric Clinic of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation last year and was on medication but would sometimes forget to take them. As a result, they said, she would wander off but would always be returned home by villagers and people who knew her.
At their home yesterday, her husband, Ram Singh, 51, could still barely contain his grief and was being comforted by scores of neighbours, gathered to help with the wake and prepare for today’s funeral. Her husband said he could not believe that persons took her for an `Ole Higue’ and killed her because she was gentle, kept to herself and would never quarrel.
Police said a post mortem examination showed the woman died as a result of haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the head. Singh left home Friday but relatives only learnt of her demise on Sunday after looking for her in several villages she frequented. (Guyana Cronicle)
May 02, 2007
Interpol bulletins for three Guyanese
Balkumar Singh, (09-11-1977)
Interpol has posted wanted bulletins for three Guyanese nationals accused of crimes against life and health, crimes against children, and kidnapping, among others.
Interpol posted 'Red Notices' for George Andrew Hercules, Romadeo Narine and Balkumar Singh, in January and February this year.
Persons for whom 'Red Notices' are issued are wanted by national jurisdictions or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate. The red notices allow the warrant to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition.
George Andrew Hercules (07-03-1955)
Hercules, 52, is wanted for crimes against children and sex crimes, on a warrant issued by Broward County, Florida in the United States. He is 5' 4" and weighs 150 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and wears a beard. Hercules speaks English and Castilian.
Romadeo Narine, 52, is wanted for crimes against children and kidnapping in Barbados. He is 5'7" and has a medium build.
Romadeo Narine (21-12-1954)
Balkumar Singh, 29, is wanted for crimes against life and health and crimes involving the use of weapons/explosives. He has dual nationality in Guyana and the US, although he is Guyanese born. There are warrants for his arrest in Nassau, Bahamas and Mineola, New York, in the US.
Anyone knowing the whereabouts of any of these persons is asked to contact the local police or the General Secretariat of Interpol. (Stabroek News; photosuppl. webred.)
May 01, 2007
Task force to battle drugs, arms Guyana appeals for more international help
SIGNING the MOU, from left, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority Mr. Khurshid Sattaur; Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier General Edward Collins; Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon; Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee; acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene; acting head of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit, Mr. Orvil Nedd and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit Mr. Paul Geer.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee yesterday vowed that the government will stop at nothing to stamp out trafficking in illegal drugs and arms and called on international governments to assist Guyana with badly needed resources.
We are putting all those who engage in these criminal activities, be they in the underworld or those who may be otherwise connected, on the alert,” he said at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of an inter-agency task force on narcotics and illicit weapons.
I say give us the tools and we will carry out a more effective fight on both fronts,” Mr. Rohee urged the international community. He said the signing of the MOU sends a strong signal to Guyana’s neighbours, Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela, that Guyana is intent on working with them.
“The MOU will also send a strong signal to the multilateral agencies in respect of mobilisation and this administration’s commitment to strengthen and intensify the fight against illegal trafficking in drugs and illicit weapons,” Rohee stated.
The task force comprises Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier General Edward Collins, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Mr. Paul Geer, acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene, Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, and acting head of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit, Mr. Orvil Nedd.
“We welcome this move because most of our crimes are spin-offs of the narco trade and no one agency can do this. The composition of this task force says everything – quick gathering and quick action,” Mr. Greene noted. The National Drug Strategy Master Plan calls for the drawing up of MOU’s to facilitate collaborative activities between the law enforcement agencies.
Rohee said it is no secret that Guyana has limited human, material and technical resources to conduct an effective fight against the trafficking of illegal drugs, weapons and ammunition and “that is why we have to maximise our efforts by consolidating and ensuring even greater coordination among the law enforcement agencies and the Joint Services”.
Rohee said the fight has raked in creditable success. He noted that between 2004 and 2006 a total of 2,159 persons were arrested and prosecuted for drug-related offences. In 2006, 159,573 kilograms of cannabis seizures took place in addition to the more than 60 kgs of cocaine, he stated, adding that last year 17,500 kilograms of cannabis plants and leaves were destroyed.
The Home Affairs Minister took a jab at the international community who take the position that future assistance will be provided only when initiatives demonstrate success in interdicting drug flows and prosecuting drug traffickers is not helpful. He said taking such an approach is to ask a man with one leg to run as fast as he can even without crutches.
As regards the illicit trafficking in arms, he said the Guyana Government is committed to stemming the proliferation, illegal trafficking and misuse of small arms, light weapons and ammunition. “We are committed to initiating effective action to address the supply and demand for small arms and light weapons,” he stated. It is no secret that use of weapons in robberies and other criminal activities involve weapons that have been stolen, traded on the local market, imported and even rented,” Rohee said.
The task force has responsibilities that will focus on sharing information and intelligence at a high level in order to direct, coordinate and advise on law enforcement operations in relation to the narcotics trade and trafficking in illegal weapons within Guyana.
Towards this end, Rohee added that the government will in a few weeks time move to enact through Parliament the Firearms (Amendment) Bill 2007 eventually, the Firearm (Amnesty) Order 2007. He said Guyana supports the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects.
Moreover, he said the country is in support of the United Nations General Assembly non-legally binding “Instrument to enable States to identify and trace in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons”.
Rohee noted that Guyana is prepared to work with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states to strengthen this instrument and other related programmes within the region and in the wider international community. (Guyana Cronicle / Delano Williams Photo) Peter Morgan to be extradited to U.S.
(NEWSDAY) A Guyanese businessman, alleged to be “heavily involved” in the international drug trade, was yesterday ordered to await extradition to the United States of America after Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls ruled that he be sent to that country to face three counts of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.Peter Morgan, 46, of Oleander Gardens, East Coast Demerara, pursed his lips as he was remanded in custody by Mc Nicolls in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court. His attorneys Rajiv Persad and Ravi Rajcoomar had made two unsuccessful closing submissions aimed at having the proceedings against the imported used parts dealer for trucks and tractors discontinued.
Morgan was indicted last November by a New York grand jury on three counts to import and distribute cocaine in the U.S. It is alleged that between December 2001 and August 2003, Morgan, together with David and Susan Narine, Trinidadian Hung-Fung Mar, and others persons unknown, did knowingly and intentionally conspire to import the cocaine into the U.S.
A second count alleges that during the same period the group conspired to distribute and possess the cocaine with intent to distribute it in the U.S. A third count alleges that during the same period Morgan, together with persons unknown, conspired to distribute the cocaine, knowing that it would be imported into the U.S.
Yesterday, Persad argued that the charges brought against Morgan were statute-barred as they violated the American Statute of Limitations. Section 3282(a) of Title 18 of the United States Code sets a five year deadline after the commission of an offence within which prosecutors are allowed to file charges.
But Persad argued that the conspiracy to commit the deeds alleged in the indictment must have been completed prior to the actual commission of the trafficking offence, sometime before 2001. This, he argued, would make the charges late by two years.
But Senior Counsel Israel Khan rebutted by pointing out that the conspiracy alleged was a “continuous offence” that remains extant, “mutating and developing” during the commission of actions linked to the offence. Conspiracy is defined as an agreement to commit an unlawful act.
Mc Nicolls agreed with Khan, accepting that the charges were in time because the alleged conspiracy comprised continuous acts up to 2003. Rajcoomar argued that the testimony of anonymous witnesses in the case could not be relied on and asked Mc Nicolls to therefore not consider their evidence when determining whether there were first instance grounds for ordering Morgan’s extradition.
But Mc Nicolls ruled that he accepted that the identity of the secret witnesses would be revealed at the trial stage in America. He ruled that he was satisfied that a prima facie case had been made out.
Morgan, who stood in the prisoners’ dock, wearing a dark blue stripped tee-shirt and blue jeans, said that he was reserving his defence in answer to the charges and informed the Chief Magistrate of his intention to file a notice of alibi with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions within ten days. (Andre Bagoo / Guyana Cronicle)