Mabaruma residents sense robbery cover-up

— call for investigation of police’s conduct

RESIDENTS of Mabaruma, Region One, are worried that attempts may be afoot to cover up a robbery which occurred in the Sub-region One on Tuesday last.
Police in the Region One town arrested three persons on Tuesday following a robbery which was committed on the home of gold dealer Geoffrey Hercules at Wanaina Hill, a small community outside the town.
The man’s son who was the only occupant of the house at the time, was beaten and gun-butted by the men during the mid- afternoon robbery.
Residents of the area told the Guyana Chronicle that three men, who were dropped off by a taxi driver near Hercules’s home, were seen entering the yard of the businessman.
Following an alarm, residents were told that the men had attacked and robbed the businessman’s son.
On Thursday, residents noted that the entire situation appeared pre-planned.
They recounted that less than an hour before the incident, Hercules had left the area by boat for Port Kaituma, another section of the region.
Also, at the time, most persons were travelling to Mabaruma to witness the regional finals of the Digicel football tournament which attracted hundreds of residents. Wanaina Hill is located some six miles from Mabaruma.
Moments before the robbery, a taxi driver, who was later arrested in connection with the incident, was seen sitting at a wharf at Kumaka, the main business community at Mabaruma.
The man had allegedly transported three men to Wanaina Hill and they were later seen entering Hercules’s yard.
Reports are that the police arrested several persons following the incident, including a suspect who was found with a gun.
The men, whose aliases were given as “Mikey”, “Kelly” and “Uglyman” were picked-up by police.
Another man, said to be of Venezuelan nationality, escaped from the police. Reports are that pieces of rope and duct tape were later found at a farm close by.
Residents told the Guyana Chronicle that one of the men remains in custody, while the alleged gunman was walking around freely at Kumaka on Thursday.
“Is only a matter of time before it sweep away, because money already pass,” a concerned member of the business community noted. “I just see one of the men who they hold in Kumaka and like I get cold right away,” the woman said.
Members of the business community have called on the authorities to investigate the conduct of police ranks stationed at Mabaruma