June 30, 2008
‘Blacka’ tragedy …Boy drowns
Friend in hospital after dramatic rescue
Roydon Daniels (left) with Prince Gardner, who both jumped into the canal to try to save the two boys yesterday. The area where the boys went under is at right.
The ‘blacka’ (black-water canal) claimed the life of a nine-year-old boy while quick action by Sophia residents saved the life of his ten-year-old friend, after the duo somehow managed to get in the deep water of the canal at Farmers Plot, Sophia yesterday.
Dead is Akeem Hinds, a student of the Tucville Primary School and who lived at Lot 1, Gully-Side, Tucville. His friend, Shakeel Grovner of 150 Guyhoc Park has been admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
The tragic incident occurred shortly before 4 pm yesterday. Reports are that the companions, who, according to residents, could almost always be found by the canal somehow managed to get into the deep water of the trench, which is one of two that separates Sophia from Guyhoc Park. Relatives of Hinds were too distraught to say anything much but residents said that the duo could not swim.
When they were pulled from the water, they were both fully clothed and the area where they went under the water is at least seven feet away from a wooden bridge. Persons who lived around the spot could not say how the duo managed to get themselves into the deep water but noted that the companions could almost always be found around the area. There was a report that the two boys were with other friends but this could not be verified.
“By the time I come I barely see a shirt”, Daniels related and said that he immediately jumped in. The man said that he has a problem with one of his hands and this prevented him from holding on to any of the youths and so he called his foster son, 12-year-old Prince Gardner, who also jumped in and brought out one of the youths, identified as Grovner. Another resident was called and he brought up the still body of Hinds, ten minutes after Grovner was fished out.
Daniels said that a resident performed mouth-to-mouth respiration on Grovner and he responded and a car was stopped and he was taken to the GPH. When Hinds body was retrieved, residents attempted to resuscitate him by the same method, but they said that he did not respond. Another car was stopped and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Daniels expressed anger at the youth on the bicycle, who had called him asking why he could not have jumped in to save the two boys. He said that after he (the youth) had called him, he rode away. He said that it was probably because of the clothes that the youth was wearing that he did not jump in but argued that this was no excuse. “He coulda jump overboard for the boys them”, Daniels declared. He stated that apart from the youth on the bicycle, another small boy was there. “He seh he passing and he seh he see these boys fall overboard”, Daniels related.
Meantime, wails rented the air at Hinds home as his mother, Marcelle Fordyce wept at the loss of her son. When this newspaper visited the home yesterday afternoon, neighbours gathered to comfort the distraught mother of six, who was hollering her son’s name uncontrollably. One of her sons, 15-year-old Laurax said that his mother was ‘lying down” inside when Akeem left the yard to go out on the road with his friends. Other relatives gathered there were grief-stricken.
Neighbours who congregated at the house were heard saying that the children especially Akeem and his 5-year-old sister Kenya would always be going around the neighbourhood. One woman related that she always sent them home when she saw them lingering around the area.
“Is a normal thing with them,” another woman said. Some young men standing on the road told Stabroek News that speaking to children in the area is “like a waste of time even when yuh talking to them for dey own good.” Besides those already mentioned Akeem had three other sibling; Adrian 22, Tamika 20 and Stephan 13.
Other residents, who gathered at the spot where the incident occurred, told Stabroek News that the two boys could almost always be found at the canal and they would often chase then from there. Daniels said that it was only on Saturday that he had told them to get away from the canal after he observed them attempting to fish.
The residents said that numerous youths would often swim or gather at the canal and though they would often times warn them about it, the youths persisted and their actions were not always of the best sort.
According to the residents, shortly before the incident, the two boys were chased away from a nearby swimming spot by another resident. They said that the boys often came to watch other persons swim and but according to them, the duo could not swim. “This is sad though, this is sad”, Daniels said.
The ‘blacka’ is a popular spot for persons to swim and residents noted that people came from various parts of the city to do so. In some places, it is filled with weeds and is very deep. While popular, the canal has claimed a number of lives over the years. (Gaulbert Sutherland and Melissa Charles/Stabroek News)
June 29, 2008
Shot cop still critical, but relatives hopeful
Mark George
Corporal Mark George, who was shot by Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys on Thursday night, was showing slight signs of improvement yesterday, giving his relatives a glimmer of hope that he might pull through safely.
George, a member of the Tactical Services Unit and a resident of 2033 Humming Bird Street, Festival City is currently a patient of the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital on a life support machine. Several of George’s vital organs were damaged and he has already had one operation. His relatives said they had been required to donate blood for him.
Yesterday friends and relatives flocked the hospital for a chance to see him and one relative said he was squeezing persons’ hands although he was still hooked up to the machine. His condition is still listed as critical.Some time around 11.30 pm on Thursday, the policeman, clad in a navy-blue uniform arrived at the Georgetown hospital with a gaping wound to his chest and he was immediately taken to the operating theatre. He was conscious.
It was later reported that Magistrate Gilhuys was behind the shooting but he has since denied that he fired first at the policeman. In a press release on Friday, the police said that around 11.15 pm a mobile police patrol observed a heavily tinted vehicle, PJJ 6832, parked on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.
The patrol stopped and approached the vehicle with a view to making checks, the release said, adding that the officers called on the driver to turn on the lights of the vehicle and this resulted in a verbal exchange during which the driver discharged rounds at the patrol officers hitting Corporal 18352 George in his abdomen.
According to the release, police returned fire hitting the vehicle, but the driver managed to drive away. He subsequently reported to the police at Brickdam, and was found to be Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys, a licensed firearm holder. The magistrate, the release said, alleged that the police had fired upon him and he returned fire.
The release said Magistrate Gilhuys refused to give a written statement and to hand over his firearm when it was demanded of him by a senior officer of the Guyana Police Force. He left the compound leaving his vehicle, which was observed to have several bullet holes.
The release said the magistrate later returned in the company of attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes who handed him over to the police. He was taken into custody and his firearm lodged. The magistrate however has refused to give a written statement, the release said, adding that “it has been observed that his firearm was not licensed for the year 2006”.
Further, the release said, he has been placed on bail pending further enquiries. The amount of the bail was not stated in the release and efforts to ascertain that proved futile. When Magistarte Gilhuys turned himself in, he was told that he was being arrested for discharging a loaded firearm. The magistrate’s Rav 4 which bore at least six bullet holes was gone when this newspaper checked the station about 15 minutes after he was released.
Although the magistrate claimed that the police first fired at him, residents in proximity to the area, recalled hearing about three single shots followed by a volley. It is based on this that police officials are accepting the story of the TSU ranks. It is unclear what the magistrate will be charged with but in the light of this incident there have been calls for him to remove from the bench immediately. (Stabroek News)
‘I know nothing’, ‘Skinny’s mother says
Plans to go to police tomorrow
Jermaine Charles
The mother of escaped high-profile prisoner and multiple murder accused, Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles, has denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of her son, stating that while she always tried to attend court on the days her son made appearances, she was not at the court on the day he escaped, contrary to what the police claimed.
The woman said she had heard in media reports that the police wanted her and her 16-year-old daughter for questioning and she planned to go to the police station tomorrow.
She insisted that she was at work when her son’s case was called on Wednesday last, and later met her daughter at the Camp Street prison where she was waiting for her son to return from court as she had taken food for him.
“He wouldn’t dare call me, because he know how I stay and this whole thing is stressful and is frustrating me. But I don’t know nothing about his plan to get away because it is not something I would support. I don’t know how and where the police got information that me and my daughter was at the court on that day. We were not there,” the distraught woman declared.
Recounting the events of that day, the woman told this newspaper that she was at work when she received a call from her daughter who said she was heading to the Camp Street prison to await her brother’s return and would take her little brother with her.
“It was 2:18 because my phone record the time. I was still at work and she call and I tell she alright and she tell me she will carry she small brother and so I tell she good and that I will meet them there. After work I went down there and we were standing waiting for the van that does bring them to come in,” the woman recounted. She could not remember the exact time that she reached her children at the prison.
She said she, her daughter and her son stood there for some time before they saw the vehicle arrive. Usually ‘Skinny’ would call out to them once he saw them, but she heard nothing when the vehicle passed, she said, but did not worry since she did not rule out the possibility that he might have arrived in an earlier batch.
The woman said her daughter had proceeded to the prison gate even though she told the girl to hold on a bit. “Then I see she coming back and I turn and I tell she ‘you see they mussy not ready’ and so we still stand up outside the prison,” she said.
The woman said that a few moments later, a prison officer called her to the prison entrance. “He ask me if I is not ‘Skinny’ mother and so I tell he yes and that is when he tell me that ‘Skinny’ getaway. I stand up there and is like I nearly tumble down because I couldn’t believe it. We just stand up stiff and I ask myself is how this boy gon do this to me because is sheer frustration for me and this whole thing already been stressing the entire family out,” she said.
The woman said he had no choice but to return to her Brutus Street home where she found her padlock and staple removed from her door. She said she subsequently heard that the police were looking for her and her daughter. “But we did not move out or abandon our home. My daughter had left home to go to Camp Street and I was at work, Nobody ain’t move out,” she said.
‘I don’t know’
The mother of four, Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles being her eldest, told this newspaper she brought up all her children on her own and her son had displayed wayward tendencies from an early age. She said he was not a disrespectful child but had become hard to control at one time after he took up gambling.
She said Jermaine attended St Ann’s Primary in Agricola and after he wrote ‘Common Entrance’, he was awarded a place at Kingston Community High School. He dropped out at third form. She didn’t give a clear reason for his dropping out but said her son started to gamble with older boys in the community and spent extremely long hours in a gambling den in the village.
“Many time I used to have to go and call him out from the gamble house and it used to be he and a wild set of boys. One time I get so fed up that I call the police and I make them lock him up to teach him an example, because it’s this type of behaviour displaying today that I was trying to avoid,” the woman said.
She also recounted that her son had taken on odd jobs, but the other older boys in the community used to always tease him telling him, “Boy why you wuking for them lil bit money? Boy is wuh you deh pun?” Asked about the possibility of her son being involved in the high-profile killings for which he has been charged, the woman said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know. I heard the talk about him being part of a gang too. But I really don’t know.”
She added that from an early age when she started to voice her disapproval of his gambling habit, “‘Skinny’ had moved out from me long and stopped at different friends” and at times she hardy saw him. “He moved out and sometimes if I coming home from work and walking in the street and he see me coming he would run away because he used to call me ‘ rowy’ ‘cause he say I always rowing,” she recounted.
The woman recounted too days when her son was still at school and he would go to collect her at the road head to accompany her home late at nights. “Sometimes I used to have to work double hours and Jermaine wouldn’t know that I ain’t coming home and he would stay out there waiting late. When I come home some mornings, the neighbours would tell me that he was waiting for me long and them bigger boys giving he weed fuh smoke,” she said.
When the wanted bulletin was issued for ‘Skinny’ following the slaying of former agriculture minister Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and his security guard, the woman said, her son had long moved out and she had absolutely no communication with him. However, since he has been a prisoner, she said, she tried to ensure that he received meals, which she, her daughter or other relatives would take.
She said she was held twice by police before, for questioning in connection with her son’s involvement in criminal activities. She insisted that she knew nothing of his whereabouts and hoped he would turn himself in.
She said she has resorted to leaving everything in the hands of God, since she was a hard-working mother and if the police were to question people in the community, “if people want talk they would hear that I always working because I bringing up my children without a father and it’s not easy.”
She said she hoped good sense would prevail, as she would make herself available to the police because she had nothing to hide. “This whole thing is frustrating and it has been stressful for my family and I’m just hoping that everything just come to an end,” she said.
Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles escaped from the lock-ups on Wednesday afternoon following a court appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s court. The police have since acknowledged negligence and admitted that the prisoner had a three-hour lead before a manhunt was launched for him.
Charles made good his escape through a loosened floorboard in the lockups, which had been there for some time but never repaired even though the station sergeant was aware of it. Commissioner of Police (ag) Henry Greene has said that serious action, including interdiction from duty would face those officers found guilty of negligence.
There has been no word on the whereabouts of Charles. The police have said that resources have been dedicated to chasing after him. Charles has been charged along with Dwight Da Silva, Quincy Evans, Terrence John, Delwayne Carrington and a boy who is now 15 years old, with a number of other murders.
He was charged along with Da Silva with the murder of Barbot Paul, the Kaneville, East Bank Demerara businessman who was shot and killed outside his home on August 6. Charles is also accused of killing Devon Charles of Agricola on June 23; Guilford Henry on June 26, 2005 and 12-year-old Kevin Browne on March 18, 2006.
He shares the Browne murder charge with Dego France. Charles is also charged with Da Silva and Evans with being part of a group of men who allegedly murdered five Kaieteur News pressmen - Chetram Persaud, Eion Wegman, Richard Stewart, Mark Maikoo and Shazam Mohamed in August 2006.
It is also alleged that they killed Wordsworth Grey on August 8. The 15-year-old boy, who was 13 years old then, was also charged with that murder. Charles was then charged with the murders of Sawh, Rajpat Sawh, Phulmattie Persaud and Curtis Robinson on April 22 at La Bonne Intention (LBI) East Coast Demerara. David Leander, called ‘Biscuit’, was also charged separately with the LBI slayings. (Stabroek News)
June 27, 2008
Skinny had three-hour start
Top Cop sees ‘gross negligence’
The Sparendaam Police Station
High-profile prisoner Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles had a three-hour lead before a manhunt was launched for him on Wednesday after he slipped under a seven-inch space left from a loose board in the Sparendaam lock-ups.
The loose board was something the station sergeant had knowledge about over a month ago, the police admitted yesterday.
Commissioner of Police Henry Greene speaking at a press conference at his office on the prisoner’s escape told reporters that the police are convinced that the man’s escape was well planned and while there is no evidence at this time of collusion, which he said is suspected, the officers found guilty of negligence will be interdicted from duty.
The Top Cop also admitted that there is no evidence that the mandatory checks were made on the prisoners during the period that they were returned to the lock-ups after making their court appearance.
“The force administration intends to take serious action against those persons found to be negligent. They will be interdicted from duty until such time that their matters are completed, whether it be criminally or departmentally and we are hoping to wrap up those investigations quickly,“ Greene declared.
Recounting the events, leading to Charles’s successful getaway, Greene said at about 10 on Wednesday morning, 33 prisoners including Charles and David Leander called `Biscuit’ were escorted from the Georgetown prisons to the Sparendaam police station. He said the police have a standing order that high-profile prisoners like Charles and Leander must be escorted by the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) and they were in a prison van. He added that the van had a traffic escort, the TSU escort under Inspector Adams and a “C” Division police escort under Inspector Williams.
According to the Com-missioner, the prisoners were also handcuffed to each other but that there were no foot cuffs as the police on the East Coast could not account for same which have been previously used.
Jermaine Charles
Going into further detail, the commissioner stated that at the station there was an officer, Assistant Superinten-dant Watts who was supervising activity in the compound while station Sergeant Abrams and Corporal Peters were in the barrack room preparing for an inspection which would have been done by them yesterday. He said one constable, Constable Kissoon, was in the enquiries office.
At around 11:30 am, Leander and Charles were taken out for court where they spent only about 10 minutes and then replaced in the lock-ups as the police awaited the magistrate’s signature of the warrants before they departed for the Georgetown Prison.
Signalled
However he said it would appear that the prisoners were left unsupervised and no one visited the lock-ups. During this time the two wooden boards between the lock-ups door and the concrete floor of the cell were lifted and Charles used a seven inch by two and half inch opening to escape.
It was when the police received the warrants at about 3.30 pm and were ready to move the prisoner that they discovered that `Skinny’ had escaped.
Information later revealed that Charles, upon entering the courtyard had signalled to the occupants of two dark coloured cars which were parked in close proximity to the court, whose drivers had then flashed the vehicle lights. The police believe that Charles may have left in one of the cars.
Negligence
Greene acknowledged that there was gross negligence. He said investigations have since revealed that the female station sergeant was aware that the lock-ups board had been loose about a month ago and she took no action to remedy the situation. He further stated that it also appeared that inspectors in charge of the escorts paid no attention to the high-profile prisoners in the lock-ups.
He said the station is very low and so it is difficult for anyone to see underneath and the prisoner managed to slip away. He told reporters that based on evidence so far, the station sergeant is ‘slack.’ “It was slackness on the part of ranks and the subordinate officer in charge,” he insisted.
However, Greene could not say exactly how many officers would be interdicted from duty but noted that the case was one of serious and gross neglect. “The two inspectors did not pay enough attention, the enquiries officer paid no attention at all and the guards were not alert and of course there was idleness on the part of security ranks,” he said.
He insisted too that the prisoners should have been handcuffed and shackled but upon further questioning Greene said he would not disclose whether the high- profile prisoners were also shackled while inside the lock-ups. `Skinny’ and `Biscuit’ were in a separate lock-up along with four other murder accused.
Asked about the standard operating procedures when remand prisoners were being held at the lock-ups, Greene said this depended on the profile of the prisoner. “Sometimes we do different things, we call names, check to ensure that they are alright and with the non-violent prisoners sometimes a different approach is taken. Sometimes we look in to see they are there and ok,” he said.
Commenting on general procedures in this regard too, Greene explained that any officer visiting a station had a responsibility to check the lock-ups. The commissioner inspects station once each year.
Four break-outs
Meantime, ‘C’ Division Commander Leroy Brummel who has overall responsibility for the Sparendaam station as well as many others on the coast admitted that the same station had four breakouts in the past, at least one of which was also due to the loose boards.
However when asked of his last visit to the station, Brummel said he visited regularly. When pressed further, the assistant commissioner said he visited the station last week but did not notice the loose boards neither was he informed about it. “I didn’t notice it before and when I checked I didn’t see anything,” he said.
The police say they have no idea where Charles may have gone. His family members are being sought but searches by the police have revealed that they have abandoned their homes. The police also believe that `Skinny’ may have been assisted by relatives who were around the station at the time.
Further, Greene told reporters that intelligence sources have indicated that efforts were being made by family members to acquire a firearm to assist in his escape from the authorities. Asked why security was not enhanced in light of this, Greene insisted that security was adequate adding that the man’s escape was due to grave negligence.
The police have advised all members of the public and family members of Charles that it is an offence to harbour any person wanted by the police. The force has also called on all family members and civic-minded persons not to shelter this fugitive from justice but to hand him over to the authorities as soon as possible.
The police in a statement yesterday said that anyone with information that may lead to the recapture of Charles is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225 – 6411, 225 -7625, 225- 6940, 225 -6941, 229 – 2701, 229-2701, 911 or the nearest police station. All information will be treated with strict confidence. (Stabroek News)
Police pondering why Arokium did not recall miners
Acting Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, yesterday announced that they are looking for two guards who were manning the UNAMCO checkpoint gate when it is believed the eight miners were killed and burnt at Lindo Creek, Berbice River.
He told a press conference that a Brazilian miner and his lone guard, whose camp is the closest to Leonard Arokium’s camp, was also questioned by the police and released. Greene added that their statements were recorded. He noted that Leonard Arokium, the dredge owner, admitted that he had no contact with his employees for three weeks, but he knew that a call to leave the location was issued following the police encounter with Rondell Rawlins called ‘Fineman’ and his gang of men.
The Commissioner stated that Arokium, knowing what had happened in the area, should have recalled his miners, and he is now pondering why Arokium did not heed the call. Greene said a team of US specialists is expected here to assist the police in the area of forensics investigations to determine when the eight miners were killed at Lindo Creek, Berbice River.
Greene also told reporters that only four spent shells were found at Lindo Creek last Sunday by a team of ranks from the Joint Services, accompanied by Clifton Wong, the brother of slain mechanic. He said that the shells matched the ones recovered from the scenes of the Bartica and Lusignan massacres, the robbery/murder at Triumph, where two men were killed, both on the East Coast Demerara, and a robbery/murder at Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, when a woman was killed.
Police in a press release said Ballistics tests also revealed that one of the spent shell matched one of the rifles recovered from the two gang members, Robin Chung called ‘Chung Boy’ and Cecil Simeon Ramcharran called ‘Uncle Willie’ and ‘Magic’, who were shot dead during an armed confrontation with the Joint Services at Goat Farm, Berbice River during last week. When asked, Greene admitted that treason accused, Philip Bynoe heads a logging concession some miles from Lindo Creek, Berbice River. (Michel Outridge)
June 26, 2008
‘Skinny’ escapes from police custody Murder accused walks out of courtroom and into minibus
Murder accused Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles, 19, of 133 Brutus Street, Agricola, Greater Georgetown, escaped from police custody yesterday, during his court appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, East Coast Demerara.
Reports said that Charles was left in the courtroom unattended and calmly walked out of the building without being detected by ranks and joined a minibus.
By the time he was discovered missing during a routine check by ranks at Sparendaam, Charles had already made good his escape, reports said. Upon discovering that the high profile prisoner was missing, police launched a frantic search for him without success up to press time.
The Police in a statement last night, said it is investigating the circumstances under which ‘Skinny’ escaped from the Sparendaam Police Station lockups yesterday. Jermaine Charles who has been charged with the murder of the late Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh and his siblings, and security guard and with several other murders including the Kaieteur News staff, had been taken to the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.
Police said ‘Skinny’ had appeared before Magistrate Yohancie Cave in relation to the Satyadeow Sawh matter, after which he was placed in the station lockups for movement back to the Georgetown Prison. “A check later revealed that he had escaped. It is believed that he escaped by removing part of the wooden section of the flooring of the lockups,” the Police said.
On August 17, 2006, three men, said to be part of the gang that shot dead five men at the Kaieteur News printery at Eccles, East Bank Demerara, appeared under tight security in the Georgetown Magistrate’s court before acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan. Alleged ring leader Jermaine Charles, Dwight DaSilva and Quincy Evans, known as ‘Jimmy Dog’, were not required to plead to the indictable charges.
The first charge read to Charles, DaSilva and Evans said that between August 7 and 13, 2006, at the Kaieteur News printery, they murdered Mark Maikoo, Chitram ‘Boyo’ Persaud, Eon Wigman, Richard Stuart and Shazim Mohamed. The three were also jointly charged with murdering Wordsworth Grey at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, on August 8, 2006.
Charles and DaSilva were separately charged with murdering Barbot Paul at Kaneville, Grove, East Bank Demerara, last August 6, 2006. ‘Skinny’ faced three other murder charges and an attempted murder charge. Police said on January 23, 2006, at Agricola, he allegedly murdered Devon Charles. On March 18, 2006, at McDoom, East Bank Demerara, he allegedly murdered Kevin Browne; and on the same day, at the same location, he attempted to murder Shaundell Browne, police said.
‘Skinny’ was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, to which he pleaded not guilty. The charge said that on August 11, 2006, he was found with a .32 millennium pistol, together with 29 live rounds of matching ammunition.
The Police yesterday appealed to anyone with information that may lead to the recapture of Jermaine Charles called “Skinny” to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 225-7625, 225-6940, 225-6941, 229-2701, 229-2702, 911 or the nearest police station. The Police said all information will be treated with strict confidence.
The Guyana Police Force also reminded all members of the public and family members of ‘Skinny’ that it is an offence to harbour any person wanted by the police. The Police Force also calls on all family members and civic minded persons not to shelter this fugitive from justice but to hand him over to the authorities as soon as possible. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle)
Lindo Creek camp not easy to find -brother of slain miner
Says heard reference to June 10 fire in area
Courtney Wong
Courtney Wong, who last Sunday took members of the joint services to the Lindo Creek camp where the burnt remains of the eight miners were, says the camp is hidden from those travelling on the ground and to find it one has to rely on intelligence because the terrain is rough.
The man whose brother, Clifton was among eight slaughtered at the Berbice River camp, spoke to members of the media at the Prime News Studio yesterday. The others killed were Nigel Torres, Cecil Arokium, Compton Speirs, Bonny Harry, Horace Drakes, Dax Arokium and Lancelot Lee.According to Wong, who last visited the Lindo Creek area last year, camp owner Leonard Arokium asked if he could escort members of the joint services to the camp site since they could not find it. He said that he agreed and they left around 9 on Sunday morning from Ogle Airport and went to Kwakwani from where they were taken to the UNAMCO gate. He said that by 3 0’clock they were at the head of a trail that leads to the camp. About 20-25 minutes later they came to an area were the camp was formerly located. It is now located about 10-15 minutes away over a slope.
He said that those with him were saying that he had led them to the wrong camp but they did not understand that that was the old camp. Wong said that he knew that that was it because there was an old toilet that served as a marker and even though he wasn’t up there for a year, he couldn’t forget certain things.
Government pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh was among those heading to the site where the remains of the eight men were but Wong said that knowing how difficult the terrain was, when they arrived at the old camp he advised Singh to remain there.
I told him “Doc you sit down here. Give me yo boys and we going up…You can’t mek it”. He told the media that in order to get to it, there are creeks and rocks to get around and moss-covered Takuba logs which are narrow, to cross. Added to that, he said the area is steep.
He said that although, the distance between the two camps is just a 10-15 minutes walk, it was difficult because of the rough terrain. Wong’s account would seem to suggest that no one would be able to stumble upon the camp but would have to know exactly where it was located.
According to Wong, while Singh and members of the joint services remained in the old camp, about nine of them – himself, joint services ranks and photographers began the journey to the camp. The first to reach, he said was himself and a soldier since they were heading the pack. As they got closer, Wong recalled scouring the area for bodies.
“I start looking to see bodies here and there and I deh peeping but you have to go up a slope but is when you reach on the flat then you can get a full view of everything”, he said adding that as he got closer he saw a burnt heap and then skulls. That is how he knew where the bodies were, he said adding that at this point officers were busy taking photographs of things they were seeing.
He said he was also looking around to see if bodies were dumped anywhere else or shells but didn’t find anything. About ten minutes after they arrived at a camp, a police officer, according to Wong, said he found a shell. He said that this shell and another were found a few feet from the burnt heap.
Wong added that he counted eight skulls. After taking photographs of everything including a skull with a hole and a hammer with blood stains, the remains were wrapped in a tarpaulin that was used to cover the kitchen area.
Conversation
While at the camp, Wong said that he heard a conversation between some soldiers which suggested that they may have noticed a fire in that area on June 10.
According to him one was saying “You could remember when we fly over and we see this big fire. One soldier was talking to another soldier and he was saying this is probably where the fire came from. I think it was three of them …I don’t think if they come in front of me I would recognize them because I wasn’t paying much attention”.
According to Arokium, who was also present yesterday, if someone is looking for bandits and a fire is seen, it is something that should be investigated. “They don’t got bush fire in that area”, he stressed. Wong added that if what the soldiers are saying is true it would mean that the men were killed earlier than everyone had averaged.
When the eight miners first arrived at the work site they had five or six barrels of fuel but when Wong and the joint services arrived only three and a half barrels and some small pails were left. Both Wong and Arokium contended that this could only mean that the men had completed a wash down (gold production run) and the set up of the camp indicates that they were preparing to start working again.
Wong opined it could have been a clear case of mistaken identity on the part of the joint services since no bandit on the run would take time to burn bodies and then scatter food which they may need. According to him it could be that some of them were shot and when the others showed no resistance, they were interrogated about Fineman and after realizing that it was a mistake, the best thing to do was “to clean up”.
Between 5:30 pm and 6 pm on Sunday, after collecting two hammers and the spent shells they left the area and arrived in Kwakwani about four hours later.
Asked about what happened to the remains, Wong said that he had heard arrangements begin made to cut down some trees at the camp site so that a helicopter could land and remove the remains and take it to the main road where a pick-up would be waiting to transport it to Kwakwani. He explained that the terrain is too tough to fetch out the remains.
Wong told reporters that while he was at the camp site on Sunday, a soldier said that the shell looked like the ones they used and when he checked the number at the back of his shell against his, it was a match.
Early Saturday morning, Arokium discovered all of his workers dead in a camp. The men were shot and then burnt. Arokium said he only discovered skulls and bones at the scene. Some relatives of the men are adamant it was the work of the security forces, while others believe that gunmen roaming the jungle after fleeing from the joint services three weeks ago might have killed the miners.
Stating that he believed that the army was responsible for the attack and that it could not be Rondell Fineman Rawlins and his gang, Arokium told Stabroek News in an interview on Sunday night that the fugitive would have had to come into “enemy” territory to launch the attack. He explained that the camp could be reached by travelling strictly over land.
Driving from Linden and through Ituni there was a “turn-off” 76 km before reaching the Kwakwani junction. The “turn-off” is the UNAMCO logging road which is located approximately a 30-minute walk from the main road. According to Arokium, Fineman was probably moving away from the Joint Services ranks that were scouring the area around Christmas Falls for him and his gang.
Fineman would then have logically crossed over the Berbice River, the man said. He went on to explain that had Fineman wanted to attack the camp then he would have then had to cross the Berbice River once again, this time moving towards “enemy territory” where the Joint Services ranks were awaiting him. Arokium believes that no man in his right senses would have done that. “I think that the army did it. All the evidence points to the army,” Arokium charged. (Stabroek News)
Ballistics test match Lindo Creek shells.....
..... to Lusignan, Bartica massacres, other crimes - Police
The Guyana Police Force last night stated that ballistics tests conducted on the four spent shells found at the crime scene at Lindo Creek, where eight miners were killed and their bodies burnt, have matched shells found at the Lusignan and Bartica incidents, the robbery/murder at Triumph, East Coast Demerara, where two men were killed and a robbery/murder at Canal No. 2 Polder, West Bank Demerara, during which a woman was killed.
A Police press release stated that the tests also revealed that one of the spent shells matched one of the rifles recovered from the two gang members who were shot and killed during an armed confrontation with the Joint Services at Goat Farm, Berbice River during last week.
Referring to articles published in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News and the Guyana Times, under the caption “Ballistics show no link to Fineman gang” and “Fineman gang weapons not used”, respectively, the release said: “The statement said that there is no link to the gang members’ firearms is absolutely false and misleading and can only be construed as an attempt to discredit and sully the image of the security forces.”
It cautioned all agencies and stakeholders, including the media, to refrain from making irresponsible and wild statements which are unsubstantiated and unconfirmed and to act in a responsible manner. The investigations into the murders at Lindo Creek are being supervised by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
Leonard Arokium, a diamond miner operating in the Berbice River areas close to Christmas Falls, claimed that he travelled to his mining camp last Saturday after receiving a telephone call informing him that his employees were all killed and their bodies burnt. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 25, 2008
Taxi-driver will be buried in wedding suit
Carlton Lynch
Dead is Carlton Lynch, of 10 Paradise, East Coast Demerara. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Lynch who suffered injuries to the head and other parts of the body, was the sole occupant of his motor car at the time.
Others injured in the collision were: driver of the minibus Hassan Inshanally, 47, of Garden of Eden, also on the East Bank Demerara, Hazrat Ally, 43; Yunis Inshanally, 15; Yusuf Baksh, 42; and Abdool Razack, 63 years. They were rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where they received first line treatment before being transferred to the Georgetown Hospital.
Reports said there was much fog in the area as Lynch travelled through Supply on the way to the city, and this led to the collision between his motor car and a minibus PDD 8880 proceeding in the opposite direction. Lynch operated his taxi from the hire car base outside the main gate of the GPHC ’s Accident and Emergency Unit on New Market Street, and was well known in that area.
Meanwhile, his wife Yonette, a teacher of Paradise Primary School, and other relatives at their Paradise home were inconsolable yesterday. His wife, sobbing as she spoke, related that he had left home very early to take a passenger to the airport and was returning home enthusiastic about many things – including uplifting his suit and other things her mother had posted from overseas for the wedding of his brother Gordon on Saturday. The widow said that instead of wearing the new suit to take his brother to church, he will now be buried in it. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 24, 2008
Men killed at mining camp ‘beaten with hammers’, sources say. Joint Services deny involvement
Dax Arokium
Evidence gathered at Lindo Creek, where the burned bodies of eight miners were discovered on Saturday, suggested that men had been badly beaten before they were killed as two hammers, one of them bloodied, were found close to the burnt remains.
Yesterday, amid swirling accusations that the country’s military had been involved, the Joint Services denied carrying out the slaughter, declaring that they had information from their sources on who had committed the mass murder.
The Police Office of Professional Responsibility has been employed to conduct investigations, the press release said, an indication that the security forces were doing some in-house checks.
Stabroek News has been reliably informed that lawmen who visited the site on Sunday, believed that at least some of the men were beaten before they were killed and that the hammers found were the weapons used.
This newspaper has been informed that one of the skulls found at the location had an impression suggesting that the person was beaten in the head. One of the hammers, placed in that impression was a perfect match confirming that the very hammer was used to inflict the injury. While there was no visible injury to match the other hammer, the fact that it had dried blood indicated that it would have been used to beat one or more of the men, one source said.
June 23, 2008
Joint Services investigating eight miners..... ..... murdered up Berbice River
Grieving mother of Lancelot Lee, Mrs. Theresa Lee.
Those killed are Lancelot Lee, 42, of 463 Kiskadee Drive, South Ruimveldt; Dax Arokium, 29, of Lot 1131 Crane Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown; his uncle, Cedric Arokium called “Brother, 51; Compton Spires called “Toner”, 58, of Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara; ‘Berry’ Wong, in his mid 40’s; ‘Bonney’ Harry, 48, of Essequibo Coast; a man known only as ‘Drakes’ and a teenager reportedly from Kwakwani.
Relatives of Lancelot Lee, called “Piggy”, were in a deep state of shock and mourning yesterday. His grieving mother, Theresa Lee, 66, told the Guyana Chronicle that she still cannot believe her son died in such a horrible manner, considering the kind person he was. “I do not know if I should believe he was killed or whether he is still alive,” she cried.
The woman said that she last saw her son about three weeks ago when he left home for a job at the mining camp at Lindo Creek up the Berbice River. The elderly woman added that her son told her if the rain continued he would return home soon and she was expecting him in a few days’ time. She noted that he began working with the Arokiums about three months ago.
With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Lee said since the death of her husband some years ago, she managed to raise her six children on her own and today it is very difficult to see one of them go in such a brutal manner. Lancelot Lee is unmarried and is survived by five siblings, scores of relatives and his mother.
Miner Lancelot Lee called “Piggy”.
Police in a press release after midnight said that as a result of information received by way of a news item on the NCN Channel 11 newscast at 18:00h Saturday, regarding a number of men killed in a mining camp in the Berbice River, the Joint Services launched an investigation into the incident.
Dean Arokium of Crane Place, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was contacted and said he had received the report from his father George Arokium, who owns the mining camp and had visited the camp early Saturday, the Police said.
George Arokium was subsequently contacted and said that his mining camp is situated at Lindo Creek, Berbice River. Sometime ago, on a date still to be ascertained, a mechanic and another man had gone to the camp to fix an engine and they would usually call him through a communication system at the UNAMCO check point, the release added.
Police noted that George Arokium further said that for some time he had not heard from them and decided to visit the camp to make checks. He arrived there at about 06:00h Saturday and found the burnt bodies. He immediately left the camp and returned to Georgetown. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle)
PM, Minister Rohee visit homes of murdered miners
Following reports by Mr. Lennox Arokium, a miner, that his camp in the Berbice River area had been destroyed and remains of workers were found there, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds led a party that included Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, and Acting Chief of Staff Colonel Mark Phillips to the homes of the Arokiums, according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s office.
There, they expressed their sympathies and condolences to the members of the families of those killed, on behalf of President Bharrat Jagdeo and Cabinet, the release stated. In further discussion, the team learnt that the mining camp on the Case Unamco road was attacked, destroyed and the miners killed and burnt. During their engagement with the family, President Jagdeo also made contact and extended his personal condolences.
A high-level crime scene investigative team including, a pathologist are in the area to confirm findings and commence investigations. Asked about the recipe for them looking so well at their age, Captain Pearson said she tries to live a good life, eat healthy food and keep fit by being at her farm at every spare moment. (Guyana Cronicle)
Families in disbelief at mining camp murders - want answers
The families of some of the men at the Lindo Creek mining camp who are presumed dead harbour faint hopes that their loves ones escaped and are torn by the question of who carried out the brutal attack.
Clifton Wong always called his family whenever he arrived at an interior location to work so when he failed to do so this time and did not return home on the expected date his wife got worried but she refused to believe that something was seriously amiss. (Oluatoyin Alleyne and Sara Bharrat/Stabroek News)
Taxi driver shot and robbed
Sheriff St bandit held
A taxi driver was shot and robbed early yesterday morning by a man armed with a gun as he stood next to his vehicle while a businessman was robbed on Sheriff Street but his attacker was captured by alert policemen on patrol.
A release from the police yesterday said Duneg Philander was next to his car at around 4:30 am on Hadfield Street when he was confronted by the man who demanded cash and jewellery. He put up resistance and the bandit shot him to his right shoulder and neck. The bandit then escaped after taking away two cell phones and $10,000. Philander has been admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and the police are investigating.
Meanwhile, at around 9:30 am Amin Spence, of Jus Water Inc. on Sheriff Street was attacked and robbed by a man outside of the business place. According to the police, Spence had just uplifted $74,900 from the business and was walking to his vehicle when he was confronted by the man who demanded the cash. Spence put up a struggle but the perpetrator told him that he was armed with a firearm and at this stage he handed over the money.
The police said as the man was escaping ranks of a mobile police patrol that was passing at the time were alerted and gave chase. They arrested the suspect in Seaforth Street, Campbellville. The stolen cash was recovered. (Stabroek News)
June 21, 2008
TWO MORE CHARGED WITH LUSIGNAN MASSACRE One also for ‘Mango Man’ murder
Two more persons were yesterday charged with the murders of the Lusignan massacre victims.
Mark Royden Williams also known as Royden Durant or ‘Smallie’ appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle to face the charge jointly with a 15-year-old juvenile.
However, prior to the charges being read to him, Defence Counsel Roger Yearwood said the correct name of the accused is Roberto Royden Williams and Police Inspector Denise Griffith, prosecuting, successfully applied to the magistrate for it to be included on the case jacket.
Williams, 20, of Uitvlugt Estate Road, West Coast Demerara, is on the joint charge, with the minor, for the January 26 unlawful killings of Clarence Thomas, 48, Vanessa Thomas, 12, Ron Thomas, 11, Mohandan Goordat, 32, Seegopaul Harilall, 10, Seegobin Harilall, 4, Dhanwajie Ramsingh, 52, Seecharran Rooplall, 56, Raywattie Ramsingh, 11, Shazam Mohammed, 22 and Shaleem Baksh, 52, at Lusignan.
Yearwood said Williams is a father of two and his teenage co-accused in the Lusignan slaughter is a third form student of Buxton Community High School. Previously, last February 21, 19-year-old mini-bus conductor James Anthony Hyles nicknamed ‘Sally’, of Lot 70 Friendship, appeared in the same court charged also in connection with the Lusignan killings.
The preliminary inquiry (PI) in that case is ongoing at Vigilance Court, where all three accused will next appear on June 26. The 11 victims, including five children, were shot dead at Track ‘A’, Lusignan on January 26.
The alleged mastermind of that and the Bartica massacre, Rondell Rawlins alias ‘Fine Man’ is still on the run, with a $50M reward on offer for information leading to his arrest. Williams was accused yesterday, as well, that, on August 30, 2007, at Cove and John, he murdered businessman Kumar Singh called Jabar alias ‘Mango Man’.He is the fourth man to be charged with that crime, after Sherwin Nero known as Sherwin Moses or ‘Catty’, of Lot 54 Buxton and Lot 74 Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown; Jermaine Wright, 25, of Vigilance and Andrew Philander or ‘Junior’ nicknamed ‘Gadget’, 18, of Lot 54 Middle Walk, Buxton, also on East Coast Demerara.
The deceased was shot in a robbery attack and his wife, Indroutie and brother-in-law, Brazilian Jose D’Acruz Arauijo, are still recovering from injuries suffered at the same time.
On June 13, an arrest warrant was issued for Williams when Nero made another Court appearance on the charge for murdering Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldier Ivor Williams, who was gunned down in an Army vehicle on January 23. Williams and Nero were joined on that charge by Cecil Simon Rambarran, called ‘Uncle Magic’ and ‘Limpy’ (now deceased) and Guyana’s most wanted, Rawlins. (Telesha Persaud/Guyana Cronicle)
Third man charged with Brazilians Regent Street murder
Lloyd Sadloo, the third man to be charged with the murder of the two Brazilians at Regent Guest House and Restaurant, Regent Street, Georgetown, last April 16, made his first appearance on that charge yesterday.
Sadloo, 27, of Lot 27 Hill Street, Albouystown, was with Ryan Clementson, a 20-year-old taxi driver (no address given) and Charles Hackette, 47, of Lot 99 New Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, who both previously appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton.
The previous charges against Clementson and Hackette were withdrawn and the new joint charges read to the trio, at the request of Police Corporal Dineshwar Nauth, prosecuting. Particulars of the April 16 offences said the trio murdered Severino Pequeno Alves Junio and Francisco Lima and robbed Jose Alenor Ovidio D’Oliveira of $1,500,000, at gunpoint, as well. The three were remanded to prison until August 29.
Sadloo, who is suffering a gunshot wound and had to be carried into the courtroom, was in front of Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys on March 30, 2006, with his reputed wife, Tricia Joseph and both were refused bail on joint charges of being in possession of five rounds of .38, two live rounds of 9 mm, four rounds of .32 ammunition and a .38 ‘Rossi’ revolver, without licences.
Sadloo is also jointly charged with Nabadaningi Gobin, for breaking and entering the Digicel store at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, on March 24, 2006, when they allegedly stole a generator, a computer, 40 cellular phones, 17 phone cards and other merchandise valued a total of $2,394,286.
On January 9 last, Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle had granted Sadloo bail after he pleaded not guilty to escaping from lawful custody, last December 31, at Brickdam Police Station, while on a robbery under arms charge. (Stabroek News)
June 20, 2008
‘Me guilty missy, me guilty’…
Man get two years for break-in
An elderly man who broke and entered another’s house and stole $326,000 worth of household items was sentenced to two years in prison when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Ramcharran Arjune initially pleaded not guilty to the charge of break and enter and larceny when it was read to him, but later changed his plea to guilty telling the court that he couldn’t afford bail and wanted the matter finished. On June 15 Arjune broke and entered the dwelling of Mark Hutson and stole a quantity of the man’s property worth $326,900.
“Me nah break no way,” Arjune told the court. He said that on the day in question he was walking along the road when he saw two buckets and decided to pick them up. The defendant said Hutson approached him and told him that the bucket was his. Arjune said he told the virtual complainant (VC) that “Ah nah you bucket, you bucket gah fuh deh where you deh.”
According to Arjune the VC began to beat him and a number of other persons joined him. However, Hutson said that on the said day, Father’s Day, he was out and received a call at about 12 pm informing him that someone had broken into his house and was caught by the neighbours.
“Missy this man ah lie all over,” Arjune told the magistrate. Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle told Arjune that she was entering a not guilty plea for him but he objected. “Me guilty missy, me guilty,” he said.
Reports are that on the said day Arjune was seen by the VC’s neighbours who thought that he was doing some work for the man. However, upon investigating they realized that Arjune was stealing the man’s things. The defendant was making his second trip, fetching the stolen items in two large buckets, when he was confronted and caught by neighbours. Arjune was sentenced to two years imprisonment. (Stabroek News)
Suriname detains 23 Guyanese fishermen
Surinamese officials have confirmed that they have in detention 23 Guyanese fishermen who are being accused of violating the Fisheries Act and Law on Economic Offences.
But Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday afternoon that while she has been able to confirm the number, names and addresses of the fishermen arrested by the Surinamese authorities, she has been unable to ascertain where they are being held.
“I’ve been trying to get from them (authorities) where the men are being held, so that personnel from our Embassy in Suriname can visit them and hear their side of the story; but I have not gotten the information as yet,” Minister Rodrigues said. She is hoping to get these details today.
As was reported previously by the Chronicle, none of the men being held are from the Corentyne area, as the addresses given include Best Foreshore, Vreed-en-hoop, Salem, Philadelphia, Greenwich Park and Vriesland, all villages in Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands); Charlestown and Sophia in the city; Charity and Lima on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam); Montrose, East Coast Demerara, and Grove East Bank Demerara.
She said relatives of the detained men are aware of their predicament and some visited the Ministry on Tuesday. Meanwhile, spokesman for the Suriname Army, Captain Romeo Wesenhagen, has said that the army would be increasing its river patrol as a result of complaints that Suriname fishermen are being harassed by their Guyanese counterparts, the Guyana Chronicle has learnt.
A recent release said the Suriname Ministry of Defence has described as “alarming” the frequency with which illegal aliens are seen in that country’s waters. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 19, 2008
Goat Farm shooting… Gunmen AK-47s linked to massacres - Police
Rondell Rawlins
With searching questions being asked about their failure to capture a group of gunmen at Christmas Falls two weeks ago, police yesterday said that one of the two rifles found on two gunmen shot dead at Goat Farm in the interior belongs to the army and were used in the Lusignan and Bartica massacres.
The lawmen also disclosed that four men accused of harbouring the country’s most wanted man, Rondell Rawlins were arrested in a house in Linden on Tuesday.
Police also confirmed yesterday that the two dead men whose bodies were flown out from the interior to Georgetown on Tuesday were positively identified by their relatives yesterday - one of them Robin Julius Chung called Chung Boy was only 15. His partner in crime Cecil Ramcharran called ‘Uncle Willie’ is said to be 54.
In a press statement issued last evening the police disclosed that following investigations, four men were on Tuesday arrested in a house at Retrieve, Linden, on suspicion of harbouring Rawlins. The police said the men are in their custody assisting with the investigations.A top joint services official told this newspaper that Rawlins and his gang had spent time in the mining town after the January 26 slaughter at Lusignan and used Linden as a launching pad for the February 17 Bartica massacre. They were in Linden several weeks following the Bartica killings, before moving deeper into the dense jungle at Christmas Falls, located some 300 miles in the Upper Berbice River, the source contended.
Meanwhile, using ballistic tests, police said they were able to link the two AK- 47 rifles recovered from Cecil Ramcharran and Robin Chung at Goat Farm, Berbice River, on Monday to the killings at Lusignan on January 26, 2008 and at Bartica on February 17. One of the weapons they said is the property of the Guyana Defence Force. The rifle was stolen during an ambush of a team of soldiers by armed men at Buxton on January 23, 2008, where Corporal Ivor Williams was shot and killed.
The police said the weapons were also used at the robbery/murder at Triumph, ECD, on December 16, 2007, where Fazal Hakim and Rajesh Singh were killed. Ballistics tests are still being done on exhibits collected at other scenes, the release added. Police ballistic tests have been greeted with some skepticism by some parts of society.
Diary
Police had linked the two massacres to the Buxton/ Agricola criminal gang being headed by Rawlins and a diary left behind when police first confronted the gunmen at Christmas Falls two weeks ago reportedly bore details of Rawlins planning and executing the massacres for the alleged abduction of his teenager child mother.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud when asked about their operation yesterday would only say that their plan remained the same. He said the security forces’ aim was to capture all of the gunmen, including Rawlins, who are believed to be still in the jungle.
A high-ranking military official told Stabroek News yesterday that based upon the results and reports available the Christmas Falls operational was poorly planned and poorly executed. The officer said clearly there was little or no coordination between the police and the army, pointing out that the initial attack on he criminals’ camp was done by the police and it was only after the gunmen escaped that the solders were called in.
“How could you plan and go on such a major operation without involving your premier law enforcement agency,” the officer skilled in jungle warfare said. The officer said even days after the shooting at Christmas Falls, the security forces insisted that the gunmen were trapped, yet on Monday a number of them were found some 90 miles away from where they were thought to be cornered.
“This is evidence of poor planning. Most of the top officers in the army and police were exposed to international training I don’t believe this is what they produce,” the officer commented. He insisted that the army had a number of skilled officers and it was a pity that they were not involved from the very inception of the operation. Noting that the administration should demand more from its lawmen, the officer said had it been in other jurisdictions senior officers would have been disciplined for such failures.
Asked what should be done now to regain control, the officer said the security forces needed to pull out from the area and start afresh. “They need to go back to the drawing board and assess where they went wrong and begin all over again,” the officer declared. He said it made no sense staying in the jungle as it was costing the government and also exposing the limitations of the country’s security forces.
Cooking utensils
The security forces had initially reported that during their first encounter with the gunmen at Christmas Falls, one of them Otis Fifee was killed and some six others escaped, with only two weapons, shirtless and without any bags. However, Chung and Ramcharran were found with cooking utensils, the holy books, ammunition and others items. This raises the question of whether they were indeed at Christmas Falls or were in another area.
One of them also had a Republic Bank visa card, a Canadian Bank gold card and a Bwee Miles card all belonging to slain agriculture minister, Satyadeow Sawh. Asked why the gunmen would still keep these cards belonging to a man they allegedly killed two years ago, a senior police officer said that the psychopathic mindset of the criminals would cause them to keep these items.
He pointed out that there had been several cases in the United States and in other developed countries where research has shown that the criminals look back at things which they took from their victims, whether it is credit cards, like in this case or whether they mark their gun for every victim they shoot. “It is like their satisfaction or their achievement,” the officer explained.
He observed that for the ordinary mind it seems weird or strange that a man or men who are struggling to evade the joint services would have things like that in their possession. “But there is such a theory in criminology and explaining the behaviour of criminals,” the officer asserted. One comment on the Stabroek News website suggested that the card was being used as a tool to recruit.
Reports are that following the June 6 shoot-out at Christmas Falls the gunmen numbering over ten split up into two groups. One of the groups was headed by Ramcharran and was intercepted following the hijacking of a minibus on the Aroaima trail on Monday morning. Rawlins and another group of gunmen are said to have headed in another direction.
A resident of a hinterland community with extensive knowledge of the terrain told this newspaper that the road to the Christmas Falls area follows the UNAMCO road along the left bank of the Berbice River. The resident said that Kwakwani is on the right bank while Ituni, Aroaima and Goat Farm are on the left side of the river. The resident said all of these communities are between 80-100 miles downriver from Christmas Falls.
On June 6 members of the joint services responding to intelligence reports that Rawlins and his men were hiding out at Christmas Falls some 300 miles up the Berbice River, descended on the forested area. Once there they came under fire from around seven men, one of whom was Fifee who was shot and killed.
The other six men, including Rawlins however managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which have been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station the night that community came under siege by gunmen. The security forces had also discovered that the men were housed in an area with four buildings.
They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy. In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, clothing, medical supplies and a Bible. (Stabroek News)
Dredge owner remanded over attempted murder of wife
Duncan Alleyne
A 38–year-old dredge owner was remanded to prison when he appeared yesterday before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on a charge of attempted murder of his reputed wife.
Duncan Alleyne of 78 West Indies Street, Bartica was not required to plead to the indictable charge. It is alleged that on June 15 with intent to commit murder Alleyne stabbed his reputed wife Simone Fiedtkou several times about the body, including her abdomen, head and back. Fiedtkou is still a patient at the Bartica Hospital.Alleyne’s lawyer, Peter Hugh, in his application for bail told the court that the Virtual Complainant (VC) had stabbed the accused and another woman in his company sometime back and had recently invaded the home of the accused’s `child mother’ and bit a piece of the woman’s ear off.
Hugh said that he was giving these examples to show the propensity of the VC to attack the accused which is what transpired on the day the VC got stabbed. Police prosecutor Denise Griffith asked that bail be refused. She said that previous matters between the accused and the VC should not have any bearing on the present matter.
Griffith said that Fiedtkou had severed the relationship between herself and Alleyne after suffering years of abuse at his hands, and had gone to live at her mother’s house. On the day in question she was confronted by Alleyne, a scuffle ensued and he stabbed her several times.
Griffith said that intent was evident in the attack since the woman did not suffer one stab wound but several critical wounds. She said that should the accused be released on bail there is a likelihood that he would interfere with the VC. The magistrate remanded Alleyne and he has to return to court on July 9 at Bartica. (Stabroek News)
June 18, 2008
Two Fineman ‘cohorts’ were killed far from Christmas Falls
Sash Sawh bank cards found on them
The body of one of the two men shot dead by the police at Goat Farm, Region 10 being loaded on to a stretcher at the Ogle Airport yesterday.
Two suspected members of the `Fineman’ gang were killed by police 90 miles away from where they were thought to be cornered at Christmas Falls and law enforcers say they retrieved a large amount of ammunition and two bank cards belonging to slain Minister of Agriculture, Satyadeow Sawh.
The exact circumstances of the deadly engagement and how many gunmen are still believed to be at large are unclear but there was no positive report on the whereabouts of Guyana’s most wanted, Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins.
Crime Chief, Seelall Persaud said the criminals are running out of options and the end for them is near. He told Stabroek News in an invited comment last evening that there had been no further developments in the pursuit of the gunmen who first eluded them at Christmas Falls, two weeks ago and on Monday hijacked a minibus on the Aroaima trail.
Shortly after the hijacking of a busload of passengers travelling from Aroaima to Linden around 4 am Monday, Persaud said the joint services ranks picked up a suspect, a 14-year-old boy and later engaged two of the gunmen in a shootout during which both of them were killed.
Some of the items found (police photo)
Police said there was an exchange of gunfire during which the two men were shot and killed. Two AK-47 rifles and a quantity of ammunition have been recovered, the release said, adding that the Joint Services are working on information that others are in the area and are combing the area.
Up to press time last night there was no positive identifications of the two dead men and Persaud said although the police had an idea who they are he would not speculate without official confirmation.
Reports are that the dead men are Cecil Simeon Ramcharran, 54, also known as ‘Uncle Willie,’ and a man identified as ‘Chung Boy.’ Both men’s names appeared on a police wanted bulletin earlier this year in connection with several murders and robberies. The men’s bodies were flown out from the jungle yesterday afternoon and are at the Georgetown Hospital mortuary awaiting autopsies.
In a statement last evening the joint services said that along with the two AK 47 rifles, 781 7.62 x 39 rounds, nine AK-47 magazines, ten 16-gauge cartridges and eight 12-gauge cartridges were recovered by the Joint Services. In addition a quantity of foodstuff, a variety of clothing, cellular phones, documents, basic medical supplies and other articles were found in their possession.These include: One Republic Bank Visa Card, one Canadian Bank Gold Card and one Bwee Miles Card in the name of Satyadeow Sawh. Further, the police recovered, one kerosene stove and cooking utensils, 11 GT&T cell phone chips, three Digicel cell phone chips; three cellular phones; two torchlights; one pocket radio; one Qu’ran; one New Testament, one Bible.
The Joint Services added that it will continue operations in the area aimed at interdicting the other wanted men who managed to elude the security forces at Christmas Falls, Berbice River. Asked about their operations now to capture the remaining gunmen, Persaud said the security forces were still executing their plan.
He acknowledged that following Monday’s hijacking of the minibus, the gunmen might be closer to civilization, but this he said would not deter ranks from pursuing them. “We will go after them wherever the trail leads,” Persaud declared.
Reports are that following the June 6 shoot-out at Christmas Falls where Otis’ Mud-up’ Fifee was killed, the gunmen numbering over ten split up into two groups. One of the groups was headed by Ramcharran, which from all accounts was intercepted following the hijacking.
Rawlins and another group of gunmen are said to have headed in another direction. Expressing optimism that Rawlins and the rest of the gang would be captured, Persaud told Stabroek News that all the signs are showing that his network was growing thin.
He pointed out that over recent weeks the security forces had been able to haul in a number of suspects associated to the criminal gang Rawlins heads. “We are seeing high men in his organization going down and more and more we are capturing his men so it is clear the end for him is near,” Persaud a senior superintendent declared.
Weighing in on the subject Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee said he did not expect the gunmen to give up although it is clear they have run out of time speed and space. Rohee said that more and more evidence was unfolding of the extent of the men’s atrocities, noting the discovery of a credit card belonging to slain agriculture minister Sawh on one of the gunmen, the contents of Rawlins’ diary and some of the confessions those detained have made. “So they will not give up,” Rohee said when asked why the gunmen were still fighting, adding that the stakes were heavily stacked against them.Rondell Rawlins
“The criminal enterprise being run by these men is slowly and surely dismantling…they are running out of time, speed and space,” the Home Affairs Minister declared. Sawh, two of his siblings and a security guard were slain in the early hours of April 21, 2006.
Police had pinned the killings on the Buxton/Agricola criminal gang and Rawlins and several others were named in a wanted bulletin. However, reports later surfaced that Sawh’s killing was the work of a different architect, who might have contracted Rawlins’ gang to execute it.
Pretended
Meanwhile, up to press time last night the driver of the minibus that was hijacked was still in police custody. Investigators who interviewed him told this newspaper that the man said he was on his way to Linden when the gunmen intercepted the vehicle and hijacked it.
Stabroek News was told that the minibus with number plate BGG 501 had left the Aroaima compound at about 3 am Monday heading for Linden but returned at about 9:45 with the same passengers. Sources told Stabroek News that while on the trail, a teenager who appeared to be not older than 14 years old stopped the bus and pretended to be joining it when a group of other men approached the bus.
The source said all the men were decked out in army-type clothing and wore bulletproof vests. The source said among items taken from the passengers, who included bauxite company workers and two babies, were their cellular phones and identification cards. Asked whether the teenager in custody was the person who flagged down the minibus, Persaud said no, adding that from what he was told the teenager was found in Ituni, several miles from the Aroaima trail where the minibus was hijacked.
On June 6 members of the joint services responding to intelligence reports that Rawlins and his men were hiding out at Christmas Falls some 300 miles up the Berbice River, descended on the forested area. Once there they came under fire from around seven men, one of whom was Fifee who was shot and killed.
The other six men, including Rawlins however managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which has been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station the night that community came under siege by gunmen. The security forces had also discovered that the men were housed in an area with four buildings.
They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy. In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, clothing, medical supplies and a Bible.
Teen held over death of blind 82-year-old
The lifeless body of an 82-year-old blind woman, with her hands bound and her privates exposed was discovered in her South Ruimveldt Gardens home on Monday night and a 14-year-old relative has since been taken into custody.
Dead is Margaret St. Juste of Lot 418 Cane View Avenue. A post-mortem examination is to be conducted today. Police said in a press release last evening that they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the pensioner’s death adding that relatives found the woman’s body around 8.30 pm lying on a bed in her home with her hands tied behind her back. The body was taken to the Lyken’s Funeral home.
Reports reaching Stabroek News are that the teen has given conflicting reports and had told relatives that when he arrived at the home earlier in the day, she was not in the position she was found in. A search of the premises however unearthed no breakage and as such he was detained and several other relatives questioned by police yesterday.
Police sources said that there was nothing in the woman’s room to suggest that she was strangled or that there was a struggle. When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday residents expressed shock at the woman’s passing. The woman, neighbours said, kept to herself. No one reported hearing anything suspicious in the hours leading up to the discovery of the woman’s body.
At the home several relatives were gathered discussing the tragedy. Speaking to this newspaper, her foster daughter Marlene Lindore said that St. Juste, who had no children, has been blind for the last 22 years or so and someone would usually take care of her.
However for the past two weeks that person was unable to come and the chores were split between Lindore’s daughter and 14-year-old nephew. He would wash up the wares she used, she said. Recalling the events of the day, the woman said that her daughter left her at home alive at well sometime after 1 pm and went to the doctor. The teen came home sometime after three and went into the woman’s room which is located at the back of the house and collected her wares.
She said she later came home and she and her two daughters watched a 7:30 pm newscast. All this while, the teen was in the house. She said that shortly after it had ended her daughters when into the room to check on her but instead made the gruesome discovery.
According to the woman, St. Juste was discovered at the end of the bed with a sheet thrown over her. Her hands were bound and the red and white dress she was wearing was pulled up exposing her private parts.
Lindore added that a box that was usually in the youth’s room was found in the woman’s bedroom. When asked about it, she said that he told her that he had put it there. Prior to this he said that he had only gone into the room to remove the woman’s used dishes.
The woman told Stabroek News last evening that the teen is in police custody assisting with investigations. Lindore said that her foster mother’s death came as a great shock to her adding that “I never expected to find her in that state”. (Stabroek News)
Miner murdered at Port Kaituma
A Port Kaituma miner was killed during a reported domestic squabble on Monday and police are hunting the suspect. Dead is Royston Nicholson, age 44 years. Reports are that Nicholson and the woman had a row and she chopped him on his right hand with a knife.
He was rushed to the Port Kaituma hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to a police release, the suspected murder weapon has been recovered. (Stabroek News)
`My son ain’t no thief,’ ..... .....says father of teen shot dead by Kara Kara farmer
“My son ain’t no thief, something definitely wrong here,” were the words of Lynburn Jackson whose son was shot dead by a farmer at Kara Kara, Linden on Saturday night. Jackson told Stabroek News that he spoke to his son last week Monday and he had told him everything was going alright so it was a severe shock to learn that he was shot and killed.
The father said that his son had left home in March to go and work in the interior but changed his plans, seeking employment with a farmer at Linden instead. “He hasn’t come home since but was planning on coming [home] for his 18th birthday on Sunday,” Jackson stated.
He remarked that it was quite strange that this has happened since his son seemed to be having a very good relationship with his employer. The man disclosed that his wife would call his son on phone numbers he had given them and an elderly sounding person would answer the phone and talk to her very nicely before putting Eon on the phone. However they have been trying to make contact with the man since they learnt of their son’s death and have not been successful. Calls to a young woman their son said he was involved with at Linden were futile also.
He said that when he learnt of his son’s death he went to the La Grange Police Station on Monday where a friend of his confirmed that his son’s body was at the Wismar Hospital mortuary. “I haven’t gone to identify him cause I ain’t get the money yet.”
Jackson said that he has not received any word from the police concerning an investigation and is trying to acquire the cash to travel to Linden although the possibility of transporting his son’s body back home is very dim because he does not have the money.
He stated that his son who went to the L’ Aventure Secondary School was never involved in any problems with the police and did not have bad friends when he was at home. He admitted however that the situation could have changed with him being away from home.
Jackson is appealing to the authorities to carry out a proper investigation and to keep him abreast with the results and he is also asking for assistance from kindhearted persons to help with transporting his son’s body.
The 17-year-old Eon Jackson was shot in his chest around 9:30 on Saturday night. According to a police statement he was shot after he and an accomplice entered the house of a farmer and challenged him with a knife and cutlass when he returned home.
The reports said that the two teens allegedly took a quantity of jewellery and a DVD player and were about to leave the house when the farmer returned. He armed himself with a gun and confronted them. A scuffle ensued and Eon was shot in his chest. A subsequent statement from the police however stated that there are conflicting circumstances surrounding the incident and further investigations are to be carried out. (Stabroek News)
June 17, 2008
Joint Services up the ante in search for ‘Fine Man’ and gang
The Joint Services reportedly upped the ante yesterday in the ongoing operations to capture the remaining ‘Fine Man’ gang members following the recent Christmas Falls, Berbice River shootout. Reports out of the mining town of Linden state there is a huge presence of Police and Army personnel in the Linden and Ituni areas, and that yesterday several young men were taken into custody.
The men have reportedly been transferred to the city where they are being interrogated, sources told the Chronicle. A source close to the Joint Services operation also told the Chronicle that the 14-year-old boy nabbed in the interior and who confessed to being attached to a notorious criminal enterprise is still being subjected to intense questioning.
The teenager, who reportedly confessed that he comes from the troubled and violence-prone village of Buxton, East Coast Demerara, has also reportedly given his interviewers the names of other members of the gang who were hiding out in the Christmas Falls area. The source declined to state where the teenager is being held.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two armed men who were shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire with the Joint Services at Goat Farm, Berbice River, on Monday were brought to the city yesterday.
A police release yesterday stated that Joint Services sources have said that the men are gang members, known to them as “Chung Boy” and “Uncle Willie” or “Limpy”. However, the police are awaiting the confirmation of their identities.
The Joint Services have also recovered two AK 47 Rifles, 781 of the 7.62 x 39 rounds, nine AK 47 magazines, 10 -16 gauge cartridges and 8-12 gauge cartridges, along with a quantity of foodstuff, a variety of clothing, cellular phones, documents and basic medical supplies.
Additionally, a number of other articles were found in the possession of the dead men, including one Republic Bank Visa Card and one Canadian Bank Gold Card, both in the name of former Agriculture Minister Satyadeow ‘Sash’ Sawh; one Bwee Miles Card in the name of Satyadeow Sawh; one kerosene stove and cooking utensils; 11 GT&T cell phone chips; three Digicel cell phone chips; three cellular phones; two torch-lights; one pocket radio; one Koran; one New Testament and a Bible.
A Police release Monday night reported a hijacking incident about 04:30 hrs that morning, when “a number of armed men stopped a mini-bus which was en-route from Aroaima to Linden in the Aroaima Trail.” The armed men robbed the passengers and forced them out of the vehicle, after which they ordered the driver to take them to an unknown destination. The driver was later released.
The Joint Services, in a press release two Saturdays ago, said that following the recent arrest of a number of persons and diligent interrogations and enquiries, about 07:00 hrs the previous day (Friday), a patrol in the Christmas Falls area, about 300 miles up the Berbice River, came upon a camp with a gang of about six persons.
The patrol immediately came under fire and fired back, killing one of the gang members who was since identified as ‘Mud Up’. The other gang members, including ‘Fine Man’; Richard Ramcharran called ‘Uncle Willie’; ‘Magic’; and ‘Chung Boy’; among others, escaped down a slope and disappeared into the jungle. Trails of blood found suggest that others were injured.
The gang members were housed in a location with four buildings in a desolate area in the jungle, with food to last several weeks in a large kitchen, along with a gas stove, generator and a solar energy apparatus.
In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, all of which were abandoned by the gang.
The fleeing gunmen left behind a cache of arms and ammunition: Three FN Rifles, four shotguns, one .32 revolver, two AK 47 magazines, seven FN Rifle magazines, along with 1,159 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition, 143 rounds of 7.62 x 51 ammunition, 10 rounds .38 ammunition, one round .32 ammunition and thirty six 12 gauge cartridges were found.
The Joint Services ranks also unearthed a diary which provided incontrovertible evidence of Rondell Rawlins planning and executing of the killings at Lusignan and Bartica, and a number of telephone numbers.
Further, checks have confirmed that the three FN Rifles found were stolen from the Bartica Police Station during the armed attack on that community on February 17, 2008; and the .32 revolver and two of the shotguns have been identified as belonging to miner Chunilall Babulall whose home at First Avenue, Bartica was attacked and robbed during that incident. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 16, 2008
Battered and nude body of teen found on Hope Road Appears to have been shot
Sheliza Khan
The battered and naked body of a 15-year-old girl was found early yesterday morning on the lonely Hope Estate Access Road, East Coast Demerara.
The body of Sheliza Khan called ‘Shelly’, who only turned fifteen last April, was discovered lying face down hours after she went missing from a Mahaica Chinese restaurant.
A grief-stricken Chanawattie Khan identified the body of her youngest child yesterday afternoon at the Lyken Funeral Home and told Stabroek News that her daughter’s face was so battered that she was almost unrecognisable.
She and other relatives rushed down to the funeral home after being informed by the police that the body was found. The woman said from all indications her daughter was also sexually assaulted. Some of her teeth were knocked out and the back of her head bashed in.
“I know she body and I recognise she but it was hard, she had on pink cutex (nail polish) and I recognise it. But if you see wah dem do to me daughter she nah deserve to dead like dah. All she teeth dem knock out and she had cut pun she mouth,” the woman said.
When Stabroek News visited the area where the teenager was found there were some spots of blood visible. The area where she was found is very lonely but persons living in the Hope Scheme, which is opposite the area, reported that they heard what sounded like gunshots sometime early yesterday morning but did not venture outside.
It is not clear who discovered the corpse but one woman told Stabroek News that she rushed to the scene after hearing reports and saw the body lying on its stomach. The woman said no one attempted to turn over the body but they observed that the back of the head had a wound and there was lots of blood. She said there was no sign of clothing next to the naked body.
Chanawattie recalled that three weeks ago her daughter was threatened by a man who lives in the area. According to the woman her daughter reported the matter to the Mahaica police but no action was taken against the man. “She come home and tell me how he tell she dat he like she and if he can’t get she no man could get she. He get he wife and children but he tell she, how he go lef he wife fo she and mind she and she report the matter because she frighten he,” the woman said.
The teenager left her Lot 50 Lancaster Village, East Coast Demerara home, at around 7:30 on Saturday night in the company of a neighbour to purchase Chinese food at Mahaica. Prior to her departure she was playing cricket in the neighbourhood and upon her arrival home she found that most of the food her mother had cooked that day was already consumed.
“She tell me how she want rice and me give she seven hundred dollar and I went and check with (name given) to mek sure that she going with she,” the woman said. She said she was not at home when her daughter left and did not know until yesterday morning that she had not returned home. Chanawattie explained that she does not sleep home some nights and her daughter would usually be with her older sister in the bottom flat of a two-flat house with their brother and his wife in the top flat.
According to the neighbour, shortly after they arrived at the Chinese shop she got a call from her husband on her cellular phone. At the time they were in the process of purchasing the food and she left the teenager in the shop and went outside to answer the phone. “I lef she in the shop and I went outside and because of the noise I had to go behind a wall and stoop down to hear my husband and when I finish and go back in the shop I ent see Shelly no where.” At the time the young girl was wearing an orange top and pink pants.
The woman said she started looking for the girl but no one seemed to know where she had gone. Questioned as to whether anyone spoke to them while in the restaurant, the neighbour said no one attempted to talk to them and as far as she knew the teenager did not seem to know anyone while there. After some time passed and the girl still did not return the neighbour said she decided to call a friend who drives a taxi as she had no money to go home.
She said she and the taxi driver drove around in the area looking for the girl but there was no sign of her and she decided to return home. “I say she must be see somebody and talking to them and she would go home after. So yesterday morning when I get up I went to she house and then she sister tell me she ent reach home yet so we went and tell she mother,” the neighbour said.
The child’s mother said that after looking for her daughter and not finding her she decided to report the matter to the police. Later in the day she was told that a body was found and she travelled to the city and identified her child’s body. According to her mother she stopped attending school sometime earlier this year and went to Berbice and lived with a man for about six weeks.
But she said she later brought her back home after Sheliza called and explained that the man was having an affair with someone else. “But the boy ent had no problem with she coming back because he had he girlfriend,” the woman said. She described her daughter as someone who was always jovial and “love to dance.” (Oluatoyin Alleyne/Stabroek News)
Linden man shot dead under unclear circumstances
Police are investigating the circumstances under which a man was shot dead in Linden by a licensed firearm holder on Saturday night. Reports received by Stabroek News said that a farmer shot the man who had broken into his Kara Kara home and challenged him with a cutlass. The dead man’s name has been given as Eon of Victory Valley, Linden.
Reports reaching this newspaper stated that around 9:30 pm on Saturday, the licensed firearm holder shot the man in his chest. A police statement yesterday said investigations initially revealed that the farmer was about to enter his home when he was confronted by two bandits who were armed with a knife and a cutlass.
The police said that from reports received the bandits took away a quantity of jewellery and a DVD player and as they left the farmer armed himself with the gun and confronted them. A scuffle ensued and one of the bandits was shot in the chest while the other, 16-years-old, gave himself up.
A subsequent release from the police said that there were conflicting reports as to the circumstances surrounding the incident. “The report of robbery was the initial report received by the police. Investigations are continuing. (Stabroek News)
Suspect in soldier murder nabbed
Wanted man, Royden Durant, who is charged with the murder of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Lance Corporal Ivor Williams was captured by police at Sophia yesterday.
Durant, along with Sherwin Nero, known as Shawn Moses and ‘Catty’ of Dennis Street, Sophia, Cecil Simone Rambarran called ‘Uncle Magic’ and ‘Limpy’ and Guyana’s most wanted Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins have been charged for the January 23 killing. Nero appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Friday and was remanded while arrest warrants were issued for the others.
A police press release said that around midday yesterday, the lawmen arrested 20-year-old Durant in a Sophia house. Police said that he was also wanted for questioning in a number of other murders which are under investigation.
Williams was shot and killed by armed gunmen in Buxton, East Coast Demerara earlier this year. Reports are that around 8:30 pm on the day in question several armed men ambushed a GDF vehicle returning to Camp Ayanganna from an administrative run in Berbice.
The gunmen engaged the soldiers on the Railway Embankment Road between Church of God and Company roads, during which Williams was fatally shot and two others, a soldier and a Friendship woman, were injured. (Stabroek News)
June 13, 2008
Police confirm woman in custody suspected..... ..... of ‘Fineman’ connection
Police yesterday confirmed that they have arrested a woman who was found to be in contact with Rondell Rawlins called “Fineman” and she is being held until it is ascertained whether she had any criminal links.
The woman who hails from Lethem was taken into police custody based on the contents in Rawlins’s diary where investigators revealed that there is a list of telephone numbers of people Guyana’s most wanted man was in contact with.
Seven days ago the Joint Services team found a part of a weapon which was left behind by the notorious wanted men who police said are still hiding in the jungle in the Upper Berbice River. Since their encounter with ranks some 300 miles at Christmas Falls, Berbice River, sources said the gang of men has disappeared into the thick, desolate jungle.
Meanwhile, the diary which most people would like to read is still in the possession of the Joint Services and to date no revelation of its contents except about his detailed plan for revenge for his sister’s murder. A well placed source said that a list of telephone numbers in the diary is very revealing and are still being processed but authorities however, remain tight-lipped about the contents.
In the jungle, up to press time, according to reports a large team of ranks have been combing the hostile and desolate jungle in a bid to capture and confront Rawlins, and his cohorts, who has since admitted responsibility for the Lusignan, East Coast Demerara and Bartica massacres of 24 people including five children, by documented details in the diary discovered on Friday during a surprise visit to Christmas Falls, some 300 miles up Berbice River.
During the confrontation one of Fineman’s accomplices was shot and killed. He has been identified as Otis Fifee, 21, aka “Mud Up” of Buxton, East Coast Demerara. A Joint Service press release on Saturday night said that the recent arrest of a number of persons and diligent interrogations and enquiries, about 07:00h Friday a patrol in the Christmas Falls area, about 300 miles up the Berbice River, encountered a gang of about six persons.
The patrol immediately came under fire and returned fire killing one of the gang members who has been identified. The other gang members who include wanted men Rondell Rawlins called “Fineman”; Richard Ramcharran called “Uncle Willie”; “Magic”; and “Chung Boy” among others, escaped down a slope and disappeared into the jungle. Trails of blood found suggest that others were injured.
The gang members were housed in a location with four buildings in a desolate area in the jungle and had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy.
In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a bible which were abandoned by the gang.
Three (3) FN Rifles, four (4) shotguns, one (1) .32 revolver, two (2) AK 47 magazines, seven (7) FN Rifle magazines, along with 1,159 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition, 143 rounds of 7.62 x 51 ammunition, 10 rounds .38 ammunition, one round .32 ammunition and thirty six (36) 12 gauge cartridges were found.
The Joint Services ranks also unearthed a diary which provided incontrovertible evidence of Rondell Rawlins planning and execution of the killings at Lusignan and Bartica, taking vengeance for the death of his sister and a number of telephone numbers.
Further, checks done have confirmed that the three FN Rifles found were stolen from the Bartica Police Station during the armed attack on that community on February 17, 2008; and the .32 revolver and two of the shotguns have been identified as belonging to miner Chunilall Babulall whose home at First Avenue, Bartica was attacked and robbed during that incident. (Guyana Cronicle)
Mother searching for son four years on
Valerie Bassant lives and works in Barbados but far from a vacation, this trip to Guyana is to continue an agonising search for her son Suresh Jagdeo who vanished on May 5, 2004. Bassant said her son, who is also known as Max disappeared on Arrival Day four years ago, and though her search has so far been futile she will not give up. Bassant believes her son is alive and is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who can locate him.
The woman said she came to Guyana in July 2004 when her sister called her to say that they could not find Max. She said although they had published the story in both the print and electronic media and had placed several ‘Missing Persons’ advertisements on CNS Channel Six, Max has not been found.
Bassant who came to Guyana on Wednesday, told Stabroek News that yesterday would have been Max’s 33rd birthday and, “I just got a craving to see him.” She said her other son’s friend told her that he had seen Max in Essequibo some time ago, working on a farm. She said too another person had told her that Max had been taken into the interior to work and that he now wore his hair long. She said too the woman told her that several of his front teeth were missing.
Bassant said that her son was not of unsound mind but persons would use him because of his easy-going manner. She said that she would check with the Guyana Police Force to find out if he had been incarcerated as he may have gotten into trouble.
In the meantime, Bassant is appealing to the public to call her on telephone number 668-9712 or the nearest police station if anyone has any knowledge of Max’s whereabouts. She said too persons can contact her in Barbados at telephone number 250-5658. (Stabroek News)
June 12, 2008
Fineman diary leads to Lethem woman
Rondell Rawlins
As security forces continue their mission to capture gunmen including Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins who they believed are trapped in the dense jungle in the Upper Berbice area, a Lethem resident whose name reportedly showed up on the fugitive’s diary had been arrested.
Police yesterday would not confirm why they have arrested a 30-year-old female of Central Lethem, Rupununi since Tuesday although, a senior police officer in the district said it is related to a sensitive security issue in the community.
Stabroek News had been told by persons close to the woman that police tracked her down after finding her telephone number on Rawlins’ diary. The woman is currently being detained in the area and is to be transferred to Georgetown soon.
A prominent resident of Lethem said that Rawlins at one time had lived in Lethem with relatives. Meanwhile, members of the Joint Services yesterday scoured the Upper Berbice jungle for Rawlins and his gang which included some of his most senior lieutenants. Ranks came upon a part of a firearm abandoned by the gang on Tuesday. Up to press time last night there had been no further development in the search for the gunmen who the joint services believe are trapped in the jungle.
Asked about the search yesterday, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee said that the gunmen would be caught. He said that he did not believe that they had arrived at the Suriname border, but assured that the security forces in that country had been alerted.
Since Saturday the Joint Services had been maintaining that they had covered a large area where the gunmen are currently ensconced, closed off all exit routes and deployed helicopters to conduct surveillance. Rawlins and his men have demonstrated their ability to survive in the jungle. They had come close to being captured many times, but managed on every occasion to slip the police cordon.
Responding to intelligence reports that Rawlins and his troops were hiding out at Christmas Falls some 300 miles up the Berbice River, members of the Joint Services descended on the forested area on Friday. Once there they came under fire from around seven men, one of whom - Otis ‘Mud-Up’ Fifee was shot and killed.
The other six men, including Rawlins however managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which has been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station the night that community came under siege by gunmen. Weapons belonging to Bartica miner Chunilall Baboolall whose business place was attacked and robbed during that incident were also recovered.
A top Joint Services official told this newspaper on Sunday that they were certain that `Fineman’ and several of his senior lieutenants were among those who escaped. In addition to recovering the weapons, the lawmen unearthed Rawlins’ diary, which they said provided evidence of the fugitive’s planning and executing of the slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica, taking vengeance for the death of his sister. They also found a number of telephone numbers.
The security forces had also discovered that the men were housed in an area with four buildings. They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy.
In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, which were all abandoned. (Stabroek News)
Cautious optimism that ‘Fine Man’ and gang will be caught
Six days after Rondell Rawlins called ‘Fine Man’ and his notorious gang escaped from a team of Joint Services ranks on Friday last at Christmas Falls, upper Berbice River, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee told reporters yesterday that he is “cautiously optimistic” the criminal gang will be hunted down and caught.
He added that the situation in the dense jungle is very complex, adding that many factors can play out, but efforts are being made by the Joint Services to flush out the gang. Rohee noted that the Joint Services are still hunting the dangerous band of men who are believed to be hiding in the jungle along the Berbice River.
Meanwhile, Fine Man’s diary, which most people would like to read, is still in the possession of the Joint Services and to date no revelation of its content has been made except a detailed plan for revenge for his sister’s murder. A well-placed source said that a list of telephone numbers in Fine Man’s diary is very revealing and is still being processed, but authorities remain tight-lipped.
In the jungle, up to press time, the source said a large team of ranks have been combing the hostile and desolate jungle in a bid to capture and confront ‘Fine Man’ and his cohorts who have since admitted responsibility for the Lusignan, East Coast Demerara and Bartica murder of 24 people, including five children, through documented details in the diary discovered on Friday during a raid on their camp at Christmas Falls, some 300 miles up the Berbice River.
During the confrontation, one of Fine Man’s accomplices was shot and killed. He has been identified as Otis Fifee, 21, aka ‘Mud Up’ of Buxton, East Coast Demerara. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 11, 2008
US: Witness will testify on Khan role in killings
Says evidence has significant value to drug case
Donald Allison (left), Roger Khan (center) & Davendra Persaud (right)
The United States Government says that it has admissible evidence that Guyanese drug accused, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan had ordered the executions of Davendra Persaud and Donald Allison before he was arrested on drug charges and wants this allowed at the upcoming trial to underline his then continuing criminal enterprise.
Khan’s lawyers have opposed a motion the government had filed for the court to rule on the admission of evidence on uncharged acts by Khan while he was here. Khan has also denied the claims that he killed the two men. However, the US government said that what it was seeking to have admitted was direct evidence of the continuing criminal enterprise and other charges in this case.
“This evidence has significant probative value and the probative value is not substantially outweighed by any potential danger of unfair prejudice,” the US government said in a motion filed on Monday in the New York court. It added that any prejudice could be addressed by a proper limiting instruction from the court.
In their motion opposing the US government’s request, Khan lawyers denied that their client killed Persaud and Allison and alleged that Allison could have been killed because he was supplying guns to an anti-government gang in Agricola.
The defence lawyers had further argued that introduction of such evidence, based principally on the word of cooperating witnesses with no first-hand knowledge of the murders, would unfairly prejudice Khan and would fundamentally change the tenor and expand the scope of the trial.
The defence lawyers stated that in the case of Persaud’s murder, they had interviewed cyclist Tyrone Hamilton, who was with Persaud at the time he was killed. According to the defence, Hamilton provided them with the name of the person who shot Persaud — a person with whom Hamilton was familiar — and had stated that it was neither Khan nor anyone associated with Khan. Hamilton later denied to Stabroek News ever telling the lawyers who had killed Persaud.
Specifically, the US government is seeking to have admitted at trial: evidence that Khan threatened Persaud and Persaud’s family, seized Persaud’s car to satisfy a drug debt, and ultimately, ordered Persaud’s murder. Khan had said that Persaud was probably killed by someone with whom he had previous brushes.
The US also wants to introduce as evidence that the drug accused was responsible for the murder of Agricola boxing coach Allison. Khan had said that Allison had strong links with the Buxton criminal gang and had supplied arms to them. The US government had said that Allison had insulted Khan in public and as a result he ordered his execution.
Meanwhile, in supporting its motion the US said that as previously argued, although the allegations were not charged in the indictment, the acts constitute direct proof of the continuing criminal enterprise and narcotics conspiracy. Khan is facing an 18-count indictment, which includes continuing a criminal enterprise.
Arguments
Arguing that alternatively, the evidence of murders of the two men was admissible under Rule 404 (b), the US charged that in Khan’s opposition, he did not challenge that the uncharged acts were both relevant to and probative of the charged narcotics offenses, or that they were alternatively admissible under Rule 404(b). Instead, he argued that he was not responsible for the acts, attacked the nature of the government’s proof and claimed the evidence should be excluded under Rule 403.
This evidence, however, was not unfairly prejudicial in the context of the charged crimes and the defendant’s other arguments, the US government said, adding that it should go to the weight the jury should place on the evidence, not whether it was admissible in the first instance.
Further, strongly arguing that the uncharged conduct was admissible and not unfairly prejudicial, the US government said that the uncharged criminal activity that it was seeking to have admitted in its motion in limine was admissible as direct evidence of the crimes charged in the indictment because the acts “arose out of the same transaction or series of transactions as the charged offense[s], … [are] inextricably intertwined with the evidence regarding the charged offense[s], [and are] necessary to complete the story of the crime [on] trial.”
It noted that although Khan denied participating in the Persaud and Allison murders, he speculated about alternative theories of the evidence, and disparaged the reliability of cooperator testimony. Uncharged and other acts could be admissible if a reasonable jury could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant committed those acts, the US government argued citing other cases where this had happened.
According to the US, even murder convictions requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt may be sustained based on the testimony of a single accomplice “so long as that testimony was not incredible on its face and was capable of establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The US government further charged that there seems to be no dispute that Persaud and Allison were, in fact, murdered, and it expected to introduce admissible cooperator testimony that Khan was responsible for those murders and that the murders furthered the goals of his drug trafficking organization.
The government also plans to introduce the taped call between Persaud and his wife about the threat to Persaud’s family, and cooperator testimony that the defendant seized Persaud’s car as partial payment for a drug debt. Noting that the crux of the defendant’s argument was that this evidence was unreliable because it consisted primarily of cooperator testimony, the US government said it expected Khan to dispute this vigorous fact at trial.
The US pointed out that the main argument raised by the defendant was that the charged crimes were less serious than the uncharged criminal conduct because the defendant has “only” been charged with narcotics offenses.
However, this was not the case, the US said, noting that the defendant was charged with being the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise. “He literally is charged with being a drug lord and ruling a vast criminal enterprise.
This charge is so serious that if convicted at trial, the defendant faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment. The average juror would not be shocked that ruling a drug organization involved the use of violence, threats, and intimidation, and that a person in such a position did not arrive and remain there through polite requests,” the US government declared.
It added that indeed, one would expect that violence go hand-in-hand with leading a continuing criminal enterprise. Thus, the evidence of violence is on par and consistent with the charges against Khan, and would not inflame jurors’ emotions. (Stabroek News)
No further sign of ‘Fineman’
Part of weapon found
Rondell Rawlins
Members of the Joint Services scouring the Upper Berbice jungle for Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and several other gunmen yesterday stumbled on part of a firearm abandoned by the gang, but there has been no further sighting of the men and the key concern is whether they could break out of the cordon.
A senior police officer last evening confirmed that the weapon part was discovered in the Christmas Falls, Upper Berbice River area, during an intensive search for the gunmen who security forces believe are still trapped in the bushes.Since Saturday the Joint Services had been maintaining that they had covered a large area where the gunmen are currently ensconced, closing off all exit routes, and have deployed helicopters to conduct surveillance.
How-ever, so far there has been no success and observers believe that the gunmen might have skipped the security forces’ cordon. Contacted for an update on the operations yesterday, the senior officer said that there had been no new development, but he insisted that the gunmen - around six of them including Rawlins - were still trapped in the jungle.
Stabroek News was told that the gunmen had managed to escape on Friday with only two of their weapons and some of them were in their undergarments. The security official said that in such a state, with at least one or two of them hurt from gunshots it would be difficult for the gunmen to get away. “If we don’t get them the wildlife” will get them, the officer declared.
Rawlins and his men have demonstrated their ability to survive in the jungle. They had come close to being captured many times, but managed on every occasion to skip the police cordon and escape.
Meanwhile, with regards Rawlins’ diary which was left abandoned during the raid on the Christmas Falls base, Stabroek News was told that investigators have begun examining its contents and efforts are being made to verify the users of some of the telephone numbers that showed up in the diary. Security experts here say that the diary could be a vital tool and might be able to put investigators in touch with persons with whom Rawlins communicated.
Otis Fifee
The other six men, including Rawlins however managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which has been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station the night that community came under siege by gunmen. Weapons belonging to Bartica miner Chunilall Baboolall whose business place was attacked and robbed during that incident were also recovered.
A top Joint Services official told this newspaper on Sunday that they were certain that `Fineman’ and several of his senior lieutenants were among those who escaped.
In addition to recovering the weapons, the lawmen unearthed Rawlins’ diary, which they said provided evidence of the fugitive’s planning and executing of the slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica, taking vengeance for the death of his sister and a number of telephone numbers. The security forces had also discovered that the men were housed in a location with four buildings.
They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy. In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, which were all abandoned as the gang fled. (Stabroek News)
June 10, 2008
Dead gunman identified as ‘Mud-Up’
‘I didn’t make his mind’, his mother says
Otis Fifee
The gunman killed in a shootout with members of the security forces at Christmas Falls, Upper Berbice River has been identified as a 21-year-old Buxtonian who had left his mother’s home some two years ago and never returned.
Otis Fifee called ‘Mud-Up” of 154, Friendship, East Coast Demerara was cornered and killed by the lawmen Friday evening. His mother, Wendy Fifee, said yesterday that she had made him, but not his mind.
Speaking to reporters yesterday morning, Guyana Defence Force Chief-of-Staff, Commodore Gary Best, said the joint services had a wide area of coverage and planned to scan Orealla and Siparuta in the upper reaches of the Corentyne River. Best said the operation, in addition to tracking down the criminals, also involved sealing off exit routes. “We are blocking all areas and preventing them from returning to Linden or going to Suriname,” Best asserted.
Stabroek News was told that ever since the Lusignan slaughter, the gunmen operating out of Buxton had moved to Linden from where they launched the attack on Bartica. Following that incident they returned to Linden and had been there up to recently before the security forces moved in on them forcing them to flee to Christmas Falls.
Meanwhile, Wendy Fifee said her son, who had been named in a police wanted bulletin back in February, had moved out from her home two years ago. She said she did not know where he went nor what he was involved in. “You does make children, but not their mind,” Fifee, remarked tearfully.
Buxtonians said the young man had never left the village and was involved in criminal activities with the Buxton/Agricola criminal gang. “He was a known bandit and everybody knows about him and he was always there,” an elderly woman told Stabroek News yesterday. Wendy Fifee said she recognised her son yesterday morning after seeing the Kaieteur News, which had published his corpse on its front page. “I know it was he, even though he went away so long I recognised my son,” the woman said.
Denying knowing about her son’s escapades, Fifee said once he left her home she was not in touch with him and did not know what he was up to. “I don’t know what he been doing. You does hear a lot of things but I ain’t know,” she said.
Villagers said the young man grew up poor and was led astray by friends and only recently he graduated into a full-fledged member of the criminal gang. Buxton has turned out a number of the country’s armed criminals and village leaders in the past had blamed this on the lack of opportunities in the community.
A top security official had told this newspaper on Sunday that Rawlins’ criminal infrastructure was crumbling and he expressed optimism that the fugitive and his troops, currently ensconced deep in the jungle, would be captured. However, up to press time last night there was still no further sighting of the men around six of whom had eluded capture Friday evening.
The joint services said they were combing the area by air, land and water. They said too that all exit routes have been closed and air surveillance by the recently acquired Bell 206 helicopters was being conducted along the Corentyne River and other areas.
Responding to intelligence, the lawmen went into the Christmas Falls area some 300 miles up the Berbice River on Friday, where they came under fire.
They responded and killed Fifee, but the rest of the gang managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which has been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station, the night that community came under siege by gunmen. Weapons belonging to Bartica miner Chunilall Baboolall whose business place was attacked and robbed during that incident were also recovered.
The joint services had posited that they were certain that `Fineman’ and several of his senior lieutenants were among those who escaped. In a press release on Saturday the security forces said Rawlins and his men were hiding out in a desolate jungle location in the Christmas Falls, Upper Berbice River area.
In addition to recovering the weapons, the lawmen unearthed a diary, which provided incontrovertible evidence of Rawlins’ planning and executing of the slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica, taking vengeance for the death of his sister and a number of telephone numbers.
Three FN rifles, four shotguns, one .32 revolver, two AK-47 magazines, seven FN rifle magazines, along with 1,159 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition, 143 rounds of 7.62 x 51 ammunition, 10 rounds .38 ammunition, one round of .32 ammunition and 36 12-gauge cartridges were recovered in the desolate jungle area where the men were hiding out.
The press release said the men were housed in a location with four buildings. They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy. In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, which were all abandoned as the gang fled. (Stabroek News)
Gang of men chase down kill ten dogs at Bush Lot
Claim dogs had killed their sheep
Piece of wood lying close to the trench where the dogs were thrown after they were killed.
Residents of Bush Lot, West Berbice are still in shock after witnessing a group of men brutally butchering about ten dogs in the area around midday on Sunday. They said the men claimed that the dogs had killed their sheep.
This newspaper was told that about 12 men, armed with cutlasses, sticks and ropes, went on a rampage in a section of the village. They hunted down and hacked off the heads of all the dogs they found. Reports are that they even went into a few yards, chased the dogs out and killed them while their owners looked on helplessly. The irate men then dumped the mutilated dogs in a nearby trench.
According to residents, the men beat the dogs with sticks and used the ropes to lasso them when they tried to run away. They said in some of the killings, one man held the dogs while another chopped their heads off completely.A woman told this newspaper she watched heartsick as the men fired chops at a pregnant dog but it apparently escaped death by hiding in some bushes. She said she was not aware of what became of the dog until the next morning when she noticed that its foot was almost severed.
As the men fired a chop at one of the dogs, its ear was completely severed and it attempted to escape. But the men ran after it and continued to butcher it. Another woman said after she saw the men killing other dogs she ran and hid her own little dog, “and when dem ask me if me gat any dog me tell them no.”
One man said that the dog killers barged into his yard and were about to chop his dog and after he realized how determined they were, he told them not to kill it in the yard. Asked why he did not try to stop them, the man responded, “because they had the cutlass and if me din let them kill the dog they woulda kill me instead.” According to reports, the men threatened to chop another resident when he tried to prevent them from killing his dog.
Some of the sheep grazing on their own in the backlands yesterday
They told this newspaper that they were sorry to hear that the sheep were killed but said the men were not even sure whose dogs killed the sheep.
“They just come in the area and killed the dogs wild-west,” a resident said. “If dem know that dogs killing dem sheep then dey shouldn’t leave them alone in the backdam, dey should stay there all day and watch dem.
And even if dey see any dog trying to attack the sheep dey should follow it to see where it going and go to the owner or report it to the police. What dem do there is cruelty and dem would punish for it.”
The man recalled that two years ago the men went into the area and killed a few dogs, including three belonging to him. He said too that just after that incident “one of the men break he hand and foot in an accident… and yet they come back to kill dem dumb animals…” He said this time his dogs ran away and hid.
Some of the residents mentioned that they also reared livestock and that the dogs did not kill them “so how they gon go and kill dem sheep so far. We don’t know if stray dogs killing the sheep but they don’t even have right to treat stray dogs like that…”
They told this newspaper sadly that their dogs would keep watch during the nights and would bark when strange persons entered the area. But on Sunday night there was silence. There were hardly any dogs around to bark. “Now we gon be afraid to sleep. When the dogs around and they bark we used to peep out…,” a woman remarked.
This newspaper was unable to speak to the men involved in killing the dogs. Residents said that they were so confused they did not even think of calling the police and after the incident they still did not make an effort to go to the station to make a report. (Shabna Ullah/Stabroek News)
Suspects held after armed robbery at Adelphi
Several suspects were taken into custody after an overseas-based Guyanese and relatives he was staying with at Adelphi, East Canje were beaten and robbed of cash and a quantity of gold jewellery around 12:45 am yesterday.
Reports are that the bandits, armed with guns, beat their victims; overseas-based Guyanese, Paul Boodhoo and owners of the house; Ganesh Premchand and his wife Anawattie Singh and fired a shot while robbing them. They also and fired two other shots as they were escaping.
Boodhoo was robbed of US$800 and a wedding band worth $20,000, while Premchand was stripped of a chain valued $20,000 and $40,000 and Singh of jewellery worth $400,000. This newspaper learnt that Premchand and Singh had held a get-together in honour of Boodoo and that the robbery occurred just after the guests had left.
A police source said that Boodhoo was going through a western door and was about to close up when he felt a “lash behind his head.” He fell in the house and the men followed him and demanded the articles, firing a shot in the process. (Stabroek News)
Captain fined over false piracy report
Magistrate Fazil Azeez at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court yesterday fined the captain of a tug $10,000 after the man admitted that he gave false information to the police in Essequibo. Lloyd Smith of Supenaam, Essequibo Coast admitted to the charge of giving false information to the police and was handed the fine with an alternative of six weeks imprisonment.
Police said that the charge stemmed from a report Smith made at the Aurora Police Station on June 2. He had claimed that while he was taking a barge and pontoon from Georgetown to Buck Hall, four men armed with firearms had boarded the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean off the shore at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, and robbed him of two water pumps, a battery and some documents
He subsequently gave a different version to the police at the Leonora Police station last Thursday and following investigations, it was revealed that at the time Smith was ashore consuming alcohol with a group of friends and could not give an account for the articles stolen and had concocted the robbery story.
Attorney-at-law Nandine Ramkumar entered an appearance for Smith yesterday. In asking that his penalty be lenient, she told the court that he had gone at a birthday celebration and it was his boss who took him. Upon his return, she said, he discovered the items missing and in his drunkenness made the report.
In asking for a minimum penalty to be applied, she said that he had an unblemished record and had five children to support. After listening to the submissions, the magistrate handed down the penalty. Meantime, Magistrate Azeez sentenced another man to nine months imprisonment after he admitted to stealing two cellular phones. Robin Persaud of Coglan Dam, Pouderoyen admitted to the charge of simple larceny and was handed the sentence.
According to the facts on the case, on April 4 at the Route 32 Fish Shop, Vreed-en-Hoop he stole the phones worth $76,000, the property of Shawnel Smith. The court was told that Persaud went up to Smith and asked her to buy a bottle of coke for him but she refused. He then grabbed the phones and ran away.
Smith said that she and a group of friends were dancing at the time and the phones were on the table. The matter was reported and following investigations, Persaud was arrested and charged. Persaud told the court that he wanted to apologize and was then handed the sentence. (Stabroek News)
Pirates strike again in Berbice
Gun-toting pirates on Sunday night attacked a four-member crew in the Atlantic Ocean just off the shore of Rosignol, Berbice, escaping with their boat, engine, seine and food stuff.
A press release from police said they are investigating an armed robbery during which fisherman Saheed Yasin and his three crew members were attacked and robbed by three masked men, two of whom were armed with firearms.
According to the release, investigations have so far revealed that around 20:00 hours on Sunday, Yasin and his crew were fishing when the bandits approached in a boat and held them at gunpoint. The armed men transferred the hapless fishers to their small boat and set them adrift. (Stabroek News)
Man held in Parika - gun find
A man is in custody after police on Sunday unearthed an unlicensed gun and several spent shells, while conducting a search on a Parika, East Bank Essequibo house following the report of an assault.
According to a police press release issued yesterday, while conducting investigations into a report of assault around 23:00 hours on Sunday officers conducted a search on a house at Parika where an unlicensed .32 Taurus Revolver with five spent shells was found. A man was arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations, the release said. (Stabroek News)
June 09, 2008
‘Fine Man’ eludes Joint Services patrol in Berbice River raid
The Camp at Christmas Falls
The men included wanted fugitive, Rondell Rawlins, called ‘Fine Man’. The men escaped and left behind a cache of arms and ammunition in a camp at Christmas Falls, Berbice River.
The Joint Service release said there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, which were abandoned by the gang.
Three FN Rifles, four shotguns, one .32 revolver, two AK 47 magazines, seven FN Rifle magazines, along with 1,159 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition, 143 rounds of 7.62 x 51 ammunition, 10 rounds .38 ammunition, one round .32 ammunition and thirty six 12 gauge cartridges were also found.
Checks have confirmed that the three FN Rifles found were stolen from the Bartica Police Station during the armed attack on that community on February 17, 2008; and the .32 revolver and two of the shotguns have been identified as belonging to miner Chunilall Babulall, whose home at First Avenue, Bartica, was attacked and robbed during that incident, the release said.
The Joint Services ranks also found a diary which they said provided evidence of Rondell Rawlins planning and executing the killings at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, and Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).
A Joint Service press release said the men, headed by wanted fugitive Rondell Rawlins, called ‘Fine Man’, was encountered about 07:00h Friday at Christmas Falls area, about 300 miles up the Berbice River. The release said the men immediately opened fire on the patrol and a gun battle ensued. In the end, one of the six men was dead. He is yet to be identified. The other gang members escaped down a slope and into the jungle.
They included Rawlins, Richard Ramcharran called Uncle Willie, Magic and Chung Boy, among others. The Joint Service added that trails of blood found suggest that others were injured in the encounter with the lawmen. The operation followed the arrest of several persons and “diligent interrogations and enquiries”, the Joint Services press release said.
The gang members were housed in a location with four buildings in a desolate area in the jungle and had foodstuff to last several weeks in a kitchen with a gas stove, generator and solar energy apparatus. Additional teams of Joint Services ranks have since joined the operation. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 08, 2008
Roger Khan had govt permission...... ..... to buy surveillance equipment -lawyer
US drug accused Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan purchased computer telephonic surveillance equipment from the Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with permission from the Guyana government, according to Khan’s defence attorney.
In a subpoena to the Drug Enforcement Administration from Defence Attorney Robert M Simels, dated April 28, 2008, it is stated that following Khan’s arrest, “FBI agent Justin Krider investigated Khan’s purchase of the computer telephonic surveillance equipment from the Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and found Khan had permission from the Government of Guyana to purchase and possess this equipment.”
Attempts to contact President Bharrat Jagdeo, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds for a response were unsuccessful. Requests to Assistant Press and Publicity Officer in the Office of the President Kwame McCoy to assist this newspaper in making contact with either the President or Dr Luncheon also produced no result.
Simels is seeking the testimony and all documents in Krider’s possession as these relate to the surveillance equipment purchased in Florida. In a background paragraph the subpoena says that Khan is alleged to have used the equipment to improperly wiretap various high-ranking officials and others within Guyana in order to maintain his “alleged drug organization.”
Guyanese first became aware of Khan when he, Haroon Yahya and policeman Sean Belfield were detained on December 4, 2002 by an army patrol and turned over to the police following the discovery of sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment and arms in a pick-up at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara.
When they were caught, Khan and his partners had told law enforcement officials that they were in search of Shawn Brown and the other prison escapees who had fled the Camp Street prison earlier that year. The men were later charged with possession of arms and ammunition and placed on $500,000 bail each. The charges were subsequently dismissed by Magistrate Jerrick Stephney at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court the next year.
From 1994 when he fled from the US to 2002 when he was caught with the surveillance equipment and arms, Khan had already established himself as businessman and had also secured government contracts working on a building project at the University of Guyana, one of his local attorneys disclosed.
Between 2002-2006 Khan kept a relatively low profile, although according to one of the statements he released when local police had set about trying to arrest him, during that time he had been involved in crime-fighting.
His lawyers told the court in New York that following the February 23, 2002 jailbreak when the escapees went on a killing spree he responded to the crisis, providing financial and logistical support to the government.
“During the crime spree in 2002, I worked closely with the crime-fighting sections of the Guyana Police Force and provided them with assistance and information at my own expense. “My participation was instrumental in curbing crime during this period,” Khan had said in one of his media statements.
The US has since alleged that a group he had set up was responsible for the murders of over 200 people during that period. Apart from the period immediately prior to Khan’s departure from Guyana for Suriname in 2006 because he was being sought by local law enforcers, his only other encounter with the police after the Good Hope incident came when properties owned by him were raided.
According to the subpoena Khan’s defence is also seeking all annual “country reports” for Guyana and Venezuela between 2001 and 2006 including, among other things, documents, reports, e-mails and facsimiles supporting the content of these reports.
They have also asked for documents related to the results of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Information System searches for Khan’s various aliases, which are connected to Guyana and those of Guyanese descent. (Stabroek News)
June 06, 2008
Pit bulls strike again
Caretaker mauled
Ramdat Singh receiving treatment at the hospital
Two of the dogs attacked their 25-year-old caretaker, Ramdat Singh as he was preparing to feed them around 6 yesterday afternoon.
At the Georgetown Public Hospital last night, Singh’s hands and legs were heavily bandaged but were still bleeding profusely.
He suffered deep wounds to the upper parts of his legs and countless punctures and lacerations to both hands. Up to press time last night he was still receiving treatment at the medical institution. Amid pain, the man called for the animals to be put down immediately.
Recounting his experience to Stabroek News as he awaited outside the x-ray department he said that he was about to feed four pit bulls when one who he described as the bad one, attacked him. That dog was later joined by another.
Singh armed himself with a chopper and a piece of wood to fend off the dogs and ended up opening the gate in a bid to escape the animals. However they continued advancing on him and he fell. According to him, the owner whose name he gave as Carl was not at home at the time and someone residing in the area rushed him to the hospital.
Singh told this newspaper that he had been taking care of the dogs for about three years now and is clueless as to what might have fuelled the attack. “They got to get rid of them man’, he said, adding that he was residing at the Oleander Gardens address where the attack occurred. Asked what happened to the animals, Singh said the gate was open and they ran out, so it was likely that they were still roaming the streets.
On May 20, three dogs escaped from their owner’s yard in Forshaw Street and attacked Moheal Raul Ramsaywack, a 20-year-old vagrant who was picking mangoes in an empty lot nearby. He had told this newspaper in an earlier interview that as he stood under the tree to pick the fruit the dogs suddenly attacked him. He said he tried to run but tripped and fell and they launched a vicious attack. His scalp which was ripped off was reattached in an operation.
The attack on Ramsaywack followed that on Charles Roopchand a security guard of 2C Area H, Lusignan, ECD. He was killed by a pack of dogs on the Ogle Airstrip road while on his way to work. Pit bull attacks have prompted comments from citizens countrywide with many calling for the animals to be banned or restricted and the legislation governing them to be amended repeatedly.
Dog fighting has also been another of the concerns raised with many calling for the laws to be enforced as this sport trains dogs to be vicious. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)
Samantha Point man injured in bizarre syringe attack
A gang of men armed with a G clamp, a cutlass and a syringe filled with a poisonous substance attacked a Samantha Point man at his home last Friday beating him severely but fled the scene before injecting him with the poison.
The man, Shawn Lewis was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital and rushed to emergency surgery. His skull was fractured in two places; he suffered a broken left arm and had a gaping wound in the same arm and there were lacerations behind his neck and on his back.
Lewis speaking from his family’s home on the East Bank of Demerara yesterday after he was discharged from hospital told Stabroek News that the incident is puzzling. He said he has no idea who would want to harm him. However, he said that the men who attacked him had a plan to not only harm but kill him since the police recovered the syringe filled with the poison. The G clamp was also found at the scene.
He pointed out that since he moved into the apartment he is renting at Samantha Point persons have broken in countless times, recently he lost a cellular phone. According to Lewis’s relatives, the break-ins were strange because there were no signs of forced entry anywhere in the apartment. On the recent occasion Lewis was sleeping when his apartment was broken into and items were stolen. He told this newspaper that even then there was no sign of forced entry.
He recalled that when he arrived home on Friday night around 7:30 pm he attempted to turn on his lights but they suddenly stopped working. He later learned that someone had taken out the starter for the electricity panel. He said that just as he opened the door someone hit him in the head. Then it was continuous blows. He said the men probably fled after persons in the area spotted them because the beating took place in his doorway.
Lewis called out for help for sometime before two men in the area found him and rushed him to the hospital. The police have been contacted and are investigating the incident. Lewis said he had several other complaints at the station regarding the break-ins but the police showed no interest in the matters. (Stabroek News)
Guyanese fishermen to face charges Five seized fishing vessels likely to be confiscated
One of the internationally banned 'fish cage' the illegal fishermen were using during their operations.
Twenty-seven Guyanese fishermen who were allegedly caught by Suriname authorities fishing illegally in Suriname waters will be charged shortly, Prosecutor-General Subhas Punwasi has confirmed.
The authorities would also mostly likely confiscate five fishing vessels which were seized when two raids were conducted, a source told the Guyana Chronicle.
Nineteen of the men and three boats were nabbed during a first raid and the remaining eight men and two boats on Monday.
Reports out of Suriname state that the men were nabbed in the fishing crafts, which resemble the Venezuelan type, following complaints to authorities there by Surinamese fishermen that they are being harassed and chased from their fishing zone by Guyanese fishermen carrying out illegal activities.
A sting operation involving the Ministries of Defence, Justice and Police, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism, saw several Navy vessels being were dispatched to the sea area where illegal fishing activities, Derrick Beeldsnijder, Press Officer at the Ministry of Defence said, noting that the men were caught red-handed.
Last week fishermen in Suriname protested against alleged harassment from Guyanese fishermen who they said were fishing illegally in Suriname waters, and they demanded that the authorities take action to protect them and to prevent further incidents or escalation. Prahlad Sewdien, president of the Suriname Seafood Association said the fishermen reported that the Guyanese fishermen had surrounded them and chased them an area close to the Suriname/French-Guiana maritime border.
Meanwhile, six other Guyanese fishermen, branded as sea-pirates, and are languishing in Suriname jails on remand, are to be back shortly. The men were arrested in early April for alleged piracy and hijacking of fishing boats in Surinamese waters, police authorities there said.
They reportedly had been targeting fishing boats but managed to elude police by hiding here in Guyana after their attacks for over a month prior to their capture, the authorities added. Under the justice system in Suriname, a suspect could be held for as much as 120 days before facing prosecution, the source reminded the Guyana Chronicle. (Wendella Davidson/(Photo courtesy of Suriname Minister of Defence))
At 23rd ACCP meeting…
Caribbean regional Police Commissioners..... ..... agree to 20-point strategy
The just concluded 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) has agreed on a 20-point strategy after discussing a wide range of current crime issues in Jamaica, from May 14 to 20.
A release said the discussions at Ocho Rios were themed ‘Managing emerging challenges to Regional law enforcement’ and took place under the Chairmanship of ACCP President, Commissioner of the Royal Barbados Police Force, Mr. Darwin Dottin.
The release said the forum also drew participants from the academic community, regional and international law enforcement agencies, members of the legal fraternity, the diplomatic corps, social workers, regional security and civil society.
The conference noted the deleterious effect that crime and violence is having on several facets of development in the region and that, without security, there can be no social, political or economic development, the release said. “There was general agreement that much of the current crime and violence in the region was driven by drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and the use of illegal firearms,” it added.
The participants acknowledged the growing evidence of persons being left behind in the social, political, educational and economic landscapes and that, in some countries, this has led to a population shift from the country area to the city, where there is the offer of more opportunities. The release said it has been predicted that some of the fallout from this pattern of behaviour will be high unemployment, the formation of gangs and increase in both poverty and violent crime.
Participants agreed that, due to the multifaceted nature of crime, there was a commensurate need for a range of multi-dimensional responses and some of those identified suggested a mix of law enforcement, economic support and social interventions.
“It was further determined that there was a greater role for the ACCP to play in articulating the current concerns within law enforcement, as well as being a more visible actor in the development and application of solutions to the current situation within the region.
“The conference was in agreement that an arrangement must be introduced, whereby the ACCP will be afforded direct access to the CARICOM Heads as this interaction is critical to a fuller understanding of the issues that impact national and regional security,” the release said.
It said the conference agreed the Caribbean is still being used as a transshipment point for drugs from South America to North America and Europe and that a noticeable change in the trend is the increasing use of fishing boats to transport illegal drugs within the Caribbean maritime space and the shift in drug routes from South America to Western Africa, with Europe as the final destination.
There was agreement, as well, that success in dismantling established drug networks was being hindered by an inadequate legislative framework that limits the ability to pursue the confiscation of assets without a predicate offence being established and the use of a legislative basis to intercept communications.
Agreements were also reached on firearms crimes, maintaining ethical standards in law enforcement, recruitment and retention, training, gender issues, use of technology in investigations, DNA capacity, research, school based violence, Police Associations and issues of law enforcement and human rights.
The conference considered and agreed:
* there is immediate need for the development of protocols and other arrangements that will facilitate direct interaction between ACCP and CARICOM Heads;
* Commissioners of Police will continue their commitment to the implementation of the Plan of Action as agreed to at the April 2008 Extraordinary General Meeting in Guyana, to the extent as supported by available funds and resources;
* there is an immediate need for the development of functional cooperation between Police Forces within the Caribbean;
* there is need for the immediate restoration of the criminal justice system to the process of regional development;
* all Police Forces in the region will pursue the development of sexual harassment policies;
* all Police Forces in the region will pursue the development of firearms reduction strategies;
* the Bermuda Police Service’s strategy on ethical conduct will be adapted as a template for the development of similar policies in other Caribbean Police Forces;
* ACCP will develop a business plan to facilitate access to funding for training as offered, by the Canadian High Commission, for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean;
* there is need for urgent improvement of the current stock of physical accommodation for Police officers, as the poor state of most Police stations constrains the ability of the region to recruit female officers in greater numbers;
*there is need to enhance security at ports of entry by using modern technology that includes electronic container scanners;
* there is significant deficit in the research capacity in regional law enforcement;
* there must be the development of capacity to trace firearms and identify ballistics through the acquisition of a Regional Integrated Ballistics Identification System;
* there must be the harmonisation of current DNA and forensic capacity in the region, such that there will be greater economies of scale and improvement in investigative output through a more timely access to analysts’ reports;
* there must be establishment of an accredited regional training institution and the further development of research capacity which are critical to the enhancement of regional law enforcement;
* ACCP will continue to collaborate with INTERPOL for the delivery of training that will further develop the intelligence management capability of the region;
* there must be the immediate development of intervention strategies to respond to the growing culture of violence in schools;
* ACCP will continue to collaborate with the International Red Cross Society for the further development of training of Police officers in matters pertaining to human rights;
* being cognisant of the threat of climate change and the inherent threat of other disasters, ACCP will undertake to continue training its members in critical areas such as disaster management (response and recovery);
* ACCP will continue to maintain alliances with international agencies for the purpose of sharing information on matters pertaining to the development of best practices in general and law enforcement in particular and
* the issues of recruitment and retention of Police officers must be afforded greater priority, as it holds significant implications for the regional security agenda. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 05, 2008
Passport form online
Persons applying for the new machine readable passports can now access the application form online at the Guyana Police Force website.
Immigration and Passport Offices across the country will phase out the sale of the forms at the offices over a period of time, a press release from the force said yesterday. The form can be accessed online at www.guyanapoliceforce.org.
Berbice crime spree
Quartet jailed for attempted murder, armed robbery
From left to right are Akeem Edwards, Samuel Forde, Jason Barker and Kester Meyers leaving the Albion Court yesterday.
The men, Jason Barker, 20; Kesley Meyers, 20 and Samuel Forde, 24 all of Tucber Park and Akeem Edwards, 22 of Sheet Anchor, Canje admitted to the offences and pleaded with the magistrate at the Albion court to be lenient.
They were sentenced to five years for each offence. Two of the charges would run consecutively while the others would run concurrently, giving them a total of 10 years each in jail. But Barker would be spending an additional five years for a separate robbery. Police Chief Prosecutor, ‘B’ Division, Inspector Fazil Karimbaksh asked that the men be given severe penalties on the grounds of the serious nature of the offences.
Reports are that on Saturday, May 31 at Strand, New Amsterdam, they robbed Samuel `Pumpkin’ Mohabir of $400,000, TT$400, US$20 and two gold bands valued $190,000. They were also charged with attempting to murder Mohabir and for having in their possession a .38 special revolver, five matching rounds and a spend shell.
According to the facts, Mohabir, a Cambio dealer of Blairmont, West Berbice who plies his trade in front of the New Amsterdam market was walking along Strand when the men who were on a bicycle attacked him with a gun and demanded the articles. He resisted at first but eventually handed over the items after the men overpowered him by hitting him in his head several times with the gun-butt.
Shortly after the incident police arrested them and conducted a search at the home of Meyers where the gun and ammo were found hidden in a toque in the yard. The jewellery and $81,000 and TT$400 were recovered. The four were also charged with attempting to rob and murder Chandradat Parag on May 19 at Sheet Anchor. According to the facts, the victim had just withdrawn the cash from a bank in NA and was returning home when the men trailed him on a motorcycle.
They pointed a gun at him and demanded the cash but Parag put up a struggle and was shot in the process. The defendants escaped [without the cash] while the victim was rushed to the NA Hospital where he was admitted.
On February 19, the men also robbed and attempted to murder Aaron Mohamed of Aaron and Son Jewellery Establishment at Main & Pope Streets, NA of a quantity of gold jewellery valued $1.7 M.
Mohamed was in the store when the men barged in, closing the door behind them, gun-butted him in his head several times and escaped with the jewellery.
And charges were further instituted against Barker, who while being in company of others, robbed Ishwarnauth Bisram of Bisram’s [Poultry] enterprise at Belvedere, Corentyne of a wallet worth $400 that contained $720,000.
The court heard that Bisram was returning home after transacting business and as he was about to enter the yard with his vehicle, Barker and his accomplices pounced on him, hitting him and grabbing the cash. Barker, a former soldier, told the magistrate that he had been charged in the past with stealing an AK-47 from the army.
Asked what they had to say before being sentenced, the men said they were sorry for what happened and begged the magistrate to give them a light sentence. Forde, Meyers and Barker also promised not to be involved with “bad company anymore.”
Magistrate Sohan questioned who the “bad company” was that they were referring to and they all said it was Edwards since the gun belonged to him. They also accused him of “planning all the robberies.” The magistrate responded that is regrettable that they had to be in court but they were old enough to make their own decisions. He told them that they allowed themselves to be drawn into the influence. (Stabroek News)
Rohee awaits briefing from..... ..... Surinamese counterpart on detained Guyanese fishermen
In this composite CNN photo, four of the six of suspected Guyanese sea pirates arrested for a number of hijackings and robberies in Surinamese waters.
Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, is awaiting a briefing from his counterpart in Suriname where more than 19 Guyanese fishermen remained detained for allegedly fishing in Surinamese waters.
He told the Chronicle last night that earlier in the day he had a brief contact with Surinamese Minister of Justice and Police, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, and expects to be furnished with additional information shortly.
According to reports out of Suriname, the men were nabbed and five fishing crafts, resembling the Venezuelan type, seized, over the weekend and on Monday, following complaints to authorities there by Surinamese fishermen that they are being harassed and chased from their fishing zone by Guyanese fishermen carrying out illegal activities.
This led to a sting operation involving the Ministries of Defence, Justice and Police, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism.
Several Navy vessels were dispatched to the sea area where illegal fishing activities were said to have been taking place, according to Derrick Beeldsnijder, Press officer at the Suriname Ministry of Defence. He added that 19 of the men were caught ‘red-handed’ during the first raid.
Minister Kermechend Raghoebarsing of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries earlier noticed that since Suriname ratified international treaties and agreements regarding sustainable fisheries and protection of sea turtles, it will impose stiff sanctions against offenders. Illegal fishermen are also driving local fishermen out of business, since the locals have to go further into the sea or stay longer at sea.
Last week, fishermen in Suriname staged a demonstration to protest against alleged harassment from illegal Guyanese fishermen in Surinamese waters. They demanded that the authorities take action to protect them and to prevent further incidents or escalation.
Prahlad Sewdien, President of the Suriname Seafood Association had indicated last week Monday that eight vessels with illegal Guyanese fishermen had surrounded Surinamese fishermen in Surinamese waters and chased them from the area. The incident occurred close to the Suriname/French-Guiana maritime border. Sewdien noticed that it was the latest in a spate of incident involving illegal Guyanese fishermen who are harassing local fishermen in Suriname waters.
“This has to stop”, Sewdien said after an emergency meeting with vice-president Ram Sardjoe last week Wednesday, and added that the hostile illegal fishermen are operating in the sea area between de Coppename River and Nickerie. “They have taken over this area completely”, Sewdien complained. The Surinamese fishermen are also calling for a permanent Coast Guard to aid in their protection.
In addition, to the 19, there are six Guyanese branded as ‘sea pirates’ who have been in jail in Suriname since early April. The gang of six, ranging from 25 to 35 years, was arrested for alleged piracy and hijacking of fishing boats in Surinamese waters, police authorities there said. They had been targeting fishing boats but managed to elude police by hiding here Guyana after their attacks for over a month prior to their capture, the authorities added. (Wendella Davidson/Guyana Cronicle)
Shooting of Riverview fisherman
Police complaints body gives Top Cop reminder
Felix Da Silva
Police in the past had bypassed Kennard’s office and submitted their report to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). One such case was the Donna Herod report which was sent to the DPP before the PCA chairman, who according to the law should review the report first before making recommendations to the DPP.
The former chancellor of the judiciary had objected to this, but it is not clear whether the police had been adhering to the principle. It is more than one week since Felix Da Silva was shot dead by a policeman during a confrontation at his home, located in the squatter settlement of Riverview, Ruimveldt.
Police said they had gone to the man’s house to investigate a report of burglary, but he engaged them by chopping the policeman who retaliated by shooting him. Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Kennard said he was giving the police time to complete their investigation as it was a complex case.
According to the PCA chairman, on Tuesday relatives of Da Silva visited his office and gave statements. He said he would go through those statements and await the police report. Da Silva was buried on Monday and his relatives have vowed to continue fighting for justice.
Excesses
Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday the PNCR said it was encouraged by reports that the PCA was prepared to launch an investigation into the controversial shooting of Da Silva. However, the party said it begs the question why so many other obvious incidents of police excesses went uninvestigated by the body. According to the PNCR the shooting to death of Da Silva has been tarnished by different versions from the police and eyewitnesses.
“The PNCR believes that the investigation by the PCA can determine whether the police acted in accordance with the law or whether Da Silva was another victim of elements of the force being judge, jury and executioner,” the party said in its statement.
It urged the Chairman of the PCA to launch an investigation of the matter with dispatch, so that the Guyanese public can know whether the rule of law is being upheld or whether measures need to be taken to ensure that the rule of law is indeed upheld in incidents of this kind. The party said it expected this investigation will be only the beginning and that the PCA will deal expeditiously with many others.
Hours after the shooting, which occurred on Indepen-dence Day, police said that while conducting investigations into a report of burglary committed on a grocery shop and beer garden at Riverview, Ruimveldt there was an armed confrontation between Da Silva and the police resulting in him being fatally shot.
The police said investigations revealed that about 4:30 am on May 26, Edward Farley, who operates a grocery shop and beer garden at Riverview, was aroused by noise in the building. On checking he saw two men in the shop who he recognized to be Da Silva called `Scar Chest’ and another man, both of Riverview and who are known to Farley. The police said both men however managed to escape by running into the Riverview area.
Police later visited Da Silva’s home and they said that he handed over some of the foodstuff allegedly stolen from the shop. Da Silva’s family however said nothing of the sort happened. Police said Da Silva was then told that he would have to go to the police station at which time he picked up a cutlass that was nearby and chopped Farley to the back of his head.
The police rank intervened and he, too, was chopped on his left hand by Da Silva who then ran away, the police statement said. Da Silva was later found in another yard at Riverview and upon seeing the police it was alleged that he attacked one of them with the cutlass and the rank then used his firearm to fend off his attacker.
The police said despite repeated calls for him to desist, Da Silva continued firing chops at the rank forcing the police to discharge rounds at him which hit him in his chest. Relatives said that Da Silva had surrendered before he was shot dead. (Stabroek News)
Family believes divine intervention saved accident victim
The family and other well-wishers believe that the life of 10-year-old Videsh Kellowan called Joshua, of ExMouth, Essequibo Coast was spared because of their prayers. The lad was rushed unconscious to Suddie Hospital after being struck by a motor car while riding a bicycle on the village public road Saturday night.
He was transferred to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) Sunday morning but X-ray and ultra-sound examinations revealed that he had not suffered internal bleeding and was no longer in a critical condition. Previously scheduled surgery was no longer necessary as the patient recovered, asked for food and water and spoke again.
Meantime, grandfather Kellawan (only name given) told the Guyana Chronicle that, at the urging of Pastor Rocky Lall, the entire congregation of Voice of Faith Miracle Ministries Church, at Devonshire Castle, also on Essequibo Coast, prayed earnestly Sunday night, seeking divine intervention in the operation that was to be performed on the child Monday.
Kellawan said the family is now thanking God for sparing his grandson who had been on an errand when the mishap occurred. Police are investigating the accident in which a detective was the driver of the vehicle. Eyewitnesses claimed he apparently lost control and ended up on the parapet where the cyclist was struck. (Guyana Cronicle)
June 04, 2008
Wanted bulletin issued for Suresh Ramsingh
Suresh Ramsingh
Police yesterday issued a wanted bulletin for Suresh Ramsingh for questioning in relation to investigations being conducted into a matter of murder.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Suresh Ramsingh is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 225-2700, 226-2917, 226-4585, 226-6978, 225-8196, 225-3650, 226-1326, 229-2701, 229-2702, 911 or the nearest Police Station.
Suresh Ramsingh reportedly murdered his reputed wife, Shaneza Khan, 22, of Lot 603, Foulis Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, on April 20, 2008. She was discovered in a pool of blood in the cottage she once shared with the 28-year-old man, with her throat slit and a stab wound to her stomach.
The particulars of Suresh Ramsingh are as follows:
| Aliases: | Yam Head or Termal |
| Age: | 28 years |
| Nationality: | Guyanese |
| Ethnicity: | East Indian |
| Height: | 5 ft 7" |
| Built: | Thin |
| Complexion: | Brown |
| Last known address: | Grass Field, Enmore, East Coast Demerara |
Khan had gone to the house to collect her belongings when it is believed she was attacked and killed. Since the bloody murder, Suresh Ramsingh has successfully managed to elude capture which prompted police to issue a wanted bulletin yesterday. Relatives said that Khan who moved out of the man’s home several times because of his violent behaviour had secured a job and she was expected to show up for work on April 21, 2008.
The Enmore Police were in receipt of several complaints which the woman had lodged after repeated physical abuse at the hands of Suresh Ramsingh. At the time she was killed she was staying at her mother’s residence. (Guyana Cronicle)
Policeman under close arrest
Following disappearance of prisoner from GPHC
A policeman is under close arrest following the disappearance of a prisoner from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Monday night. Police in a press release said that about 22:00 hours on Monday, ranks of a police mobile patrol observed taxi-driver Oswald Rambarran, 34, of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, being assisted by a male accomplice trying to place a man in the trunk of a motor car.
However, on seeing the police patrol, Rambarran’s accomplice made good his escape while he drove away in the motor car, Police said. Meanwhile, ranks gave chase during which shots were discharged at the vehicle apparently resulting in Oswald Rambarran being hit below his left armpit, Police added.
The police subsequently caught up with Rambarran at Grove, East Bank Demerara, and conveyed him to GPHC where he was admitted a patient under police guard. The motor vehicle was taken into police custody. It was later found that Oswald Rambarran had left the hospital and checks are being made to locate him.
Meanwhile, the rank who was guarding Rambarran could not give an account as to what had transpired as he had moved away from the area where Rambarran was hospitalised. (Guyana Cronicle)
Suriname detains 19 Guyanese fishermen, five boats seized For allegedly fishing illegally in Surinamese waters
Suriname authorities have arrested over 19 Guyanese fishermen and seized five boats, for allegedly fishing illegally in Surinamese waters. A source in Suriname last evening told this newspaper that the country’s Defence Minister Ivan Fernald had confirmed the arrests of the 19 Guyanese nationals and seizure of three boats said to be of the Venezuelan-type.
Two more fishing crafts and fishermen were captured on Monday at around 13:00 hours Suriname time, Derrick Beeldsnijder, Press officer at the Ministry of Defence told the source. The official, however, could not say exactly how many individuals were detained during the second operation.
Beeldsnijder who said the detained men have been handed-over to the judicial authorities, added that it is still to be determined whether charges will follow.
Defence Minister Fernald disclosed that the arrests were made during a sting operation at sea after authorities gathered credible information and intelligence over the past several days regarding illegal fishing activities by illegal foreigners in Surinamese waters.
Fernald further disclosed that the clampdown was a joint-operation of the ministries of Defence, Justice and Police, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism. Several Navy vessels were dispatched to the sea area where illegal fishing activities are said to be thriving.
During the first raid nineteen Guyanese fishermen operating three 60-foot vessels were caught red-handed. Since the crews could not produce a licence, the vessels were confiscated along with fishing gear and other equipment. Beeldsnijder informed that the fishermen were using a type of fishnet which is internationally prohibited and also banned in Suriname.
A source indicates that in this specific fishing devise bait is being positioned to lure fish. A disadvantage of this system, however, is that it could get lost at sea and still be operational which is very detrimental to fish stocks.
Minister Kermechend Raghoebarsing of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries earlier noticed that since Suriname ratified international treaties and agreements regarding sustainable fisheries and protection of sea turtles it will impose stiff sanctions against offenders. Illegal fishermen are also driving local fishermen out of business, since the locals have to go further into the sea or stay longer at sea.
Last week fishermen in Suriname staged a demonstration to protest against alleged harassment from illegal Guyanese fishermen in Surinamese waters. They demanded that the authorities take action to protect them and to prevent further incidents or escalation.
Prahlad Sewdien, president of the Suriname Seafood Association had indicated last week Monday that eight vessels with illegal Guyanese fishermen had surrounded Surinamese fishermen in Surinamese waters and chased them from the area.
The incident occurred close to the Suriname/French-Guiana maritime border. Sewdien noticed that it was the latest in a spate of incident involving illegal Guyanese fishermen who are harassing local fishermen in Suriname waters.
“This has to stop”, Sewdien said after an emergency meeting with vice-president Ram Sardjoe last week Wednesday, and added that the hostile illegal fishermen are operating in the sea area between de Coppename River and Nickerie. “They have taken over this area completely”, Sewdien complained.
The Surinamese fisherman are also calling for a permanent Coast Guard to aid in their protection. Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee when contacted last evening, said he only knew of the arrests when he heard about it on a local newscast. He said he would be making contact today with his Surinamese counterpart Minister of Justice and Police, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, so that he can be properly briefed.
Rohee had last month headed a delegation to the neighbouring country for a one-day bilateral meeting and the two countries having vowed to cooperate more closely in their fight against crime, signed a bilateral anti-crime agreement, known as the ‘Nieuw-Nickerie Declaration’. The agreement covers fields such as trans-national crimes, money-laundering, trafficking of illegal fire-arms and drugs, smuggling, trafficking in persons, piracy and violent crimes.
The two delegations have further decided to establish a permanent 24-hour communication line on the political and operational level between the two ministers and the police forces of Suriname and Guyana, while exchange of intelligence and expertise would be enhanced. (Wendella Davidson/Guyana Cronicle)
Taxi-driver shot after ‘kidnap’ bid
Escapes from hospital
A 34-year-old taxi-driver, who was allegedly seen attempting to kidnap another man on Monday night, escaped from the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he was admitted after being shot by the police following a chase. The police rank, who was supposed to be guarding him, has been placed under close arrest as investigations continue, a police press release stated.
The statement said that at about 10 pm on Monday, ranks of a police mobile patrol observed taxi-driver, Oswald Rambarran, of East Ruimveldt, assisted by a male accomplice trying to place a man in the trunk of a motor car. On seeing the police patrol the accomplice fled while Rambarran drove away in the motor car.
The police gave chase and fired shots at the vehicle resulting in Rambarran being hit below his left armpit. The patrol caught up with him at Grove, East Bank Demerara and he was taken to the GPH where he was admitted under guard. The vehicle was taken into custody.
Police said that it was later found that Rambarran had left the hospital and asserted that checks are being made to locate him. The police stated that the rank, who was guarding Rambarran could not give an account as to what had transpired as he had moved away from the area where Rambarran was hospitalised.
“He has been placed under close arrest while the matter is being investigated”, the statement said.
The statement made no further mention of the man who Rambarran and his accomplice were trying to force into the trunk. (Stabroek News)
June 03, 2008
Better Hope teen dies after ingesting substance
Had been receiving death threats..... ..... following alleged theft of cell phone
Mark Kirpaul
A 14-year-old Plaisance Community High School student Mark Kirpaul died on Saturday last after ingesting a poisonous substance following countless death threats from an unknown person.
His relatives believe that he might not have voluntarily consumed the substance. Another student of the school, a 13-year-old girl, has also been receiving threats and her parents have reported the matter to the police.
According to the children’s parents and relatives, the threats began following the reported theft of a female teacher’s cellular phone. Several efforts by Stabroek News to make contact with the teacher last evening proved futile. And following a discovery among Kirpaul’s things after his death, relatives are questioning the nature of the relationship between Kirpaul and the teacher.
A post-mortem examination conducted on Kirpaul’s body yesterday showed that he had consumed a poisonous substance, which led to his eventual death. Samples were taken from the body to carry out further tests to identify the poison. Relatives were told that the results should be available in about two weeks.
When the media visited Kirpaul’s Second Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara home yesterday many relatives had gathered and were discussing the tragedy.
Requesting anonymity, relatives said that on Saturday morning, Kirpaul had left home to follow his grandmother to catch transportation to go work and then proceeded to a shop to buy kerosene oil. He returned about half an hour later and his aunt instructed him to go and clean himself up so that he could have some breakfast. However, before he could do so, he began crying out for pains in the stomach and collapsed near a standpipe in the yard, vomiting repeatedly and his grandmother was contacted.
The woman, who is also Kirpaul’s guardian, said she rushed back home to find him lifeless but conscious and decided to take him to the hospital. She said she repeatedly asked him if he had drunk something dangerous and he replied in the negative. All the while, she said, he was calling for water.
She said that at the Georgetown Public Hospital it took some time for him to be taken into the treatment room but once that was done the staff there tried everything to save him. Tears welling in her eyes, the woman said that he died around 12.45 pm in the Accident and Emergency Unit.
Shortly after his death, this newspaper was told, the teacher, along with the other victim of the threats and her parents arrived at the hospital and burst into tears on hearing the news. The boy’s relatives had not been aware that he had been threatened until they went to the Sparendaam Police Station to report his death.
Kirpaul’s relatives said that over the last few months, the teacher in question had become very close to the teenager, sometimes picking him up from home and taking him to lunch. The relatives said that last Wednesday morning the teacher went to the house and said she needed Kirpaul to go to the station to make a report about her stolen phone. She took the child to the station without any relative and he later returned home alone.
The relatives said the teacher next turned up at the home last Saturday shortly after Kirpaul had been taken to the hospital, asking again for the boy to accompany her to the police station.
The relatives then found out that things had escalated on Friday night last, when an unknown man kept calling at a taxi service base in Cummings Lodge where the lad was helping out an uncle, and threatening him.
The parents of the 13-year-old girl told the media yesterday that she too received threatening telephone calls from a man who said his name was ‘Charlie’. They said their daughter told them that this had happened on Tuesday and they immediately informed the teacher.
The girl’s mother said that early the following morning, the teacher rang their home and told her to go to the police station. There, she said, she saw Kirpaul without a parent or guardian and asked him if they knew what was happening. She said that Kirpaul replied in the affirmative.
The woman said the boy later rang her home, requesting to speak with her daughter, in whom he confided that he had been receiving threats. He told me that the man said, “I am Charlie. I need your life, your heart, your soul,” the girl said.
On Friday night, ‘Charlie’ rang the girl’s home and when her father answered, he was told that his daughter was going to be kidnapped by noon the following day. Noon met them making a report at the Sparendaam Police Station, he said.
Meanwhile, Stabroek News was told that a photograph of Kirpaul and the female teacher warmly embracing each other was discovered hidden among the teen’s clothing following his death.
His relatives are urging the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death. Kirpaul was described at a pleasant but quiet child, who did not confide in his relatives. He also leaves to mourn, his parents, Anthony and Asha and five siblings. (Stabroek News)
MMC guards shoot man in foot
MMC security guards yesterday shot a man as he attempted to flee from them after they found him in possession of items he had stolen from a Bel Air residence.
According to a police press release, the man was shot in his left foot around 4.30 am when the private security patrol responded to the alarm he had triggered at the Begonia Avenue residence. When they arrived the man was seen in yard, but he fled by scaling a fence.
He was later found on Duncan Street and the guards arrested him and took him back to the residence, where the owner identified items found in his possession as hers. He again attempted to escape and it was during this bid that he was shot. (Stabroek News)
June 02, 2008
Police probe of fisherman killing incomplete
Benschop, businessmen donate to family
Felix Da Silva
One week after a policeman shot and killed a Riverview, Ruimveldt fisherman, the Guyana Police Force is yet to complete an investigation to determine whether the rank used excessive force.
Meanwhile, on Friday last the Mark Benschop Foundation in association with two city businessmen donated a quantity of foodstuff and clothing to the man’s widow and four children.
Last week Monday police killed Felix Da Silva during a raid on his Riverview home after a businessman in the area had alleged that the 27-year-old and others broke into his shop and stole a quantity of items. The police later alleged that Da Silva had attacked the policeman who had gone to his house to arrest him, resulting in him being killed.
The Mark Benschop (right) Foundation in association with businessmen Peter Ramsaroop (left) and Ron Morrison (second from right) putting smiles on the faces of Michelle Russel and her four children whose father police killed last week.
On Friday, the Mark Benschop Foundation and businessmen, Ron Morrison, proprietor of the local Hanes Franchise and Peter Ramsaroop of Roop Group donated a quantity of books, clothing, toys and sports gear to Da Silva’s wife, Michelle Russel.
In addition, Ramsaroop promised to open accounts starting with $5,000 for each of the four children. Russell also collected a quantity of baby foods, pampers and other items for her four-month-old son.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Friday Benschop lauded the contributions of Morrison and Ramsaroop, saying that the businessmen could always be counted on to render assistance to the less fortunate. He was particularly grateful to Morrison, owner of the Hanes franchise on Robb Street for his contribution, noting that the businessman has always partnered with him in similar ventures.
Morrison told Stabroek News he was happy to donate to the family whom he said was in desperate need following the tragedy. “One can imagine their circumstances at this time and it is one thing to notice suffering but it is another to step in and stop it,” Morrison said. He pledged to continue supporting the family and was in high praise for Benschop’s initiative in reaching out to the family.
Speaking directly to the killing of Da Silva, Benschop said in any democratic society “these things ought not to go unchecked”. “Justice must prevail because at the end of day we must all be concerned about the welfare of children Da Silva has left behind,” Benschop said.
In addition, he observed that the conditions under which the family lived were deplorable. “We hope that other concerned citizens in the business sector and those in authority would do something to assist this family in the burial and other areas, as well as ensuring justice prevails,” Benschop asserted. He said so far his organization has taken the family to Sandy’s Funeral Home where he was able to secure a sizeable discount from management for funeral expenses.
Investigation
On the investigation into the killing, relatives last week made a formal complaint to the Police Complaints Authority. Chairman of the body, retired Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard had told this newspaper that he was ready to investigate the matter.
Noting that not much has been done on the police front with regard the investigation, Benschop said as far as he was aware the policeman who pulled the trigger was still on duty. “In no circumstance should a policeman having done such an act still be on frontline duty. Authorities should look into this,” Benschop demanded.
Benschop lamented that Da Silva was accused of committing a petty crime but instead of the police conducting their own investigation they took along with them the accuser. “The police should do their job in a professional manner, not be judge, juror and executioner,”
Meanwhile, minutes after Benschop concluded his presentation to the family on Friday a policeman visited Russel at her home inviting her to Eve Leary to give a statement. Russel declined the invitation, arguing that she had already given a statement. She said the police were trying to intimidate her. Benschop told Stabroek News that his foundation was prepared to do whatever it could legally to ensure that the family gets justice, even if it is hiring a lawyer. (Stabroek News)
Man wounded by police after sex assault report
A 22-year-old man is under police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after being shot by police, who came under fire while investigating a report of a sexual assault at Sophia yesterday.
Troy Jones of 97 James street, Albouystown was admitted to the medical institution after being treated for a gunshot wound in his left leg. Another man, who was said to be involved in the sexual assault of a teenaged girl managed to escape.
A police press release stated that about 1:30 pm yesterday, while responding to a report of the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl at ‘E’ Field, Sophia, ranks came under fire. They returned fire hitting Jones, who was outside the building, in his left leg. A .32 revolver along with a .32 spent shell were recovered at the scene by the police, the release said.
Police said that investigations subsequently revealed that four teenaged girls went to Sophia Park where one of them met a man who is known to her as he visited her home. The man was in the company of Jones.
The teenagers were persuaded to go to ‘E’ Field, Sophia, where the girl was taken by the man who is known to her into a house and reportedly sexually assaulted. While this was taking place the other teenagers contacted the girl’s mother by cell phone who informed the police, the statement said.
“The police quickly responded and on approaching the house came under fire from Troy Jones who was outside. The ranks returned fire hitting Jones in the leg”, the release stated. Jones was taken to the GPH, where he was admitted under police guard after being treated. (Stabroek News)
Post-mortem on Cornelia Ida man today
A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted today on the body of Deonarine Kumar, who was found dead in a Crane, West Coast Demerara (WCD) canal on Saturday.
Kumar, of Cornelia Ida, WCD had gone missing last Thursday and his body, which was in the early stages of decomposition, was discovered on Saturday. Police, while believing that foul play might be involved are awaiting the results of the post mortem. (Stabroek News)
Money-changer mugged at NA
Police hold four
Police have detained four persons who they believe are part of a gang that committed a spate of robberies in Corentyne and New Amsterdam recently including the gun-point mugging of a money-changer on Saturday.
Two of the persons have since reportedly confessed to robbing money-changer Samuel Mohabir of more than $400,000 in local and foreign currency at New Amsterdam (NA) on Saturday. According to reports, Mohabir of Blairmont, West Bank Berbice had exited the ferry at New Amsterdam at about 8 am that day and was proceeding along Strand, NA in the vicinity of the Guyana Stores building when he was attacked by two men, one of whom was toting a handgun.
One of the robbers choked him from behind while the other pointed the gun to Mohabir’s head and demanded that he hand over everything. Mohabir initially resisted but was forced to hand over the money that he had. The bandits took $400,000 in local currency, TT$400 and US$20. They also grabbed two gold bands valued at $190,000 from Mohabir before escaping.
However, shortly after, the police arrested four persons on suspicions that they had been involved in the robberies. One of them, a 20-year-old man was kept at the Reliance Police station at Canje but escaped from the lock-ups at around 1am yesterday.
Later yesterday morning, at around 11 am, police went to the youth’s Tucber Park, New Amsterdam home and found him there and rearrested him. A search was conducted on the premises and a .38 special revolver, five matching rounds and a spent shell was found by the police. A toque that had holes cut into it, apparently for the eyes and mouth was also recovered while TT$400 and $81,000 was also found.
The youth reportedly told police that the two men had borrowed the gun from him and returned it after the robbery was committed. He reportedly revealed that he was part of a gang that had committed robberies in Berbice and they had obtained the gun by pooling their money and purchasing it.
Two of the other detained persons have since reportedly confessed to robbing Mohabir. Police are working on the theory that the men were part of a “bicycle gang” that had been committing a series of robberies in the district and then escaping on bicycles. They believe that the men are linked to the $2M Thursday robbery of a West Canefield, Canje couple.
On that occasion, three bandits, one carrying a gun and two brandishing cutlasses relieved shop owner, Kamaldeo `Ringo’ Atomdeo, 40, and his wife, Monica of over $360,000 cash and over 300 pennyweight of gold worth more than $1.5 M and escaped by foot in the direction of the Canje Creek. They are also being linked to other robberies. Investigations are continuing. (Stabroek News)
Bandits raid Leguan ferry stelling
The Leguan Ferry Stelling was yesterday hit by armed bandits who broke in and held the guard at gunpoint before torching open the safe and taking $123,000. Police, in a press release said that the incident occurred at about 1:35 am yesterday at the stelling and the five bandits, three of whom were armed with guns, held the security guard, Birbal at gunpoint before taking the money from the safe, which was the property of the Transport and Harbours Department.
The release stated that investigations revealed that Birbal was in the waiting room area when the door was kicked open and the five men entered. They held him at gunpoint and proceeded to break into the office where they used a torch to cut open the padlock to the safe and took away the cash. The men then tied up the security guard before escaping, the statement added. Investigations are continuing. (Stabroek News)
Brazil miner shot five times
In Aranka ambush
A Brazilian miner was shot five times by bandits during an attempted robbery at Aranka, Cuyuni River yesterday morning and is in a serious condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Jose Leache, 46, of Robb Street was up to last evening awaiting surgery at the medical institution for two gunshot wounds to his abdomen. He also sustained several other shots to his right leg and left hand, which exited.
According to reports, Leache was heading to the Aranka landing along with his wife, Neach Da Silva, and a small boy at around 9 am yesterday when the bandits struck. The four bandits were armed with guns and wore masks. A business partner of Leache, Elizabeth Hendricks told Stabroek News that the men emerged from the bushes and forced the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) that Leache was riding to stop.
She said that the men attacked Leache and shot him while Da Silva hid behind the vehicle and the boy ran to the landing which was close-by to alert persons there. Hendricks said that the bandits were unable to take anything from Leache as Da Silva was shouting and persons alerted by the boy came out. The bandits quickly disappeared into the bushes. Leache was taken to the landing and transported from the area by boat.
Hendricks said that it was the man’s normal routine to go to the landing and this was the second time that Leache was attacked for the year. She said that during the first attack in February, the bandits attempted to shoot him but the gun did not fire.
Following yesterday’s incident police at Bartica were alerted and went into the area. At the hospital, last evening, relatives and friends of the wounded man, who was said to be conscious but in need of blood, were anxiously waiting for the man to go into surgery. (Stabroek News)