Gunmen attack couple, escape with car

 Oct 10, 2017  News 0 Comments

At around 20:30 hrs on Sunday, three gunmen attacked a young couple at Grove, East Bank Demerara, and escaped with the Toyota Premio motorcar that the female had borrowed from her mother to run an errand. The vehicle bears registration number, PPP 6167.
Nikita Khan said that she and her husband had just got home and were taking some items into the yard when three armed men attacked them. Her husband was gun-butted.
“We had borrowed the car from my mother to go by a relative up the East Coast, so we came home to empty the car to take it back,” Khan recalled. She added that her husband started taking items into their yard and she subsequently joined him.
“I took some things into the garage and when I look out I see someone with my husband and I thought it was a friend helping him out, but then I saw the gun,” Khan recounted. She said that the men took her husband’s phone and cash and drove away with the car.
“One of them pushed his hand in my husband’s pocket and collected the car keys and gone with the car,” she noted.
A report was made to the Grove Police Station.
Two Mondays ago, Deputy Superintendent Lonsdale Withrite, who was heading the Guyana Police Force’s SWAT team, was attacked at gunpoint by three men, who hijacked his car. The officer, who was subsequently moved from his post, also lost his service revolver in the robbery which occurred at Industry, East Coast Demerara seawall.
The vehicle was subsequently found abandoned at Ogle Airport road.
On September 16, last, a Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal, Pernell Gordon, said that he was a victim of a carjacking. He recalled seeing two men waving for a taxi at Providence, East Bank Demerara, and decided to pick them up.
He said that the men asked to be stopped off at Second Bridge, Mocha. When he arrived at the destination, he saw two other men standing on the bridge. Gordon said that he stopped to drop off his passengers and the two men approached his vehicle and snatched the keys while the other three tried to block him from escaping.
However, the rank said he managed to exit the vehicle after the men relieved him of his wallet, licence, and valuables. They escaped with his Toyota Premio, licence plate PVV 7706.
Early in September, gunmen assaulted a 65-year-old taxi driver, after which they made off with his Toyota Premio which he hired to operate as a taxi at Kitty Public Road, Georgetown.
Percy Busey, a driver attached to Eddy’s Taxi Service, had arrived in Kitty in the car bearing registration PRR 3295, to pick up a passenger. He said that he was at the time reversing on the Kitty roadway while awaiting the arrival of his passenger when two men pounced on him.
According to Busey, one of the men held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him if he did not comply with their demands, while the other opened the door and attempted to drag him out by his shirt. He was hit in the face by the men who then escaped with the car and the victim’s valuables.

No bail for duo accused of stealing $25M in items from ‘Chicka D’

 Oct 10, 2017  Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News 0 Comments

Two men who allegedly broke into the ‘Chicka D’ restaurant and carted off over $25M in articles, were yesterday remanded to prison by Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman after they made an appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Forty-seven-year-old handyman Seon Clarke, and 41-year-old Gary Grant, a mechanic of Lot 24 Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, both denied the charge which alleged that between September 20 and October 5 at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, they broke and entered the ‘Chicka D’ restaurant and stole one ice cream machine valued $2M and other items, totalling $25.2 M, property of Deonarine Singh.
It was further alleged that on the same day in question, Clarke behaved in a disorderly manner and assaulted a police detective who attempted to arrest him.
Police Prosecutor Adunni Inniss objected to bail being granted to the defendants citing the serious nature of the offence and the penalty the charges attract.
Facts presented by the prosecutor stated that on October 6, police received information about a burglary and when they showed up at the restaurant they observed the defendants inside.
The court heard that when a police officer attempted to arrest Clarke, he pulled out a knife and made an attempt to stab him. The man then dealt the police officer several punches to the face and fled. The prosecutor added that both men were apprehended by public-spirited persons who chased after them.
The prosecutor’s objection was upheld by the magistrate and both defendants were remanded to prison.
Clarke was also ordered to post $60,000 bail on the assault charge.
Both men were instructed to make their next court appearance on October 30.

NY-based Guyanese remanded for guns and ammunition

 Oct 10, 2017  Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News 0 Comments

An overseas-based Guyanese, who was being investigated after officials at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) found two high-powered guns and matching ammunition, stashed in bike parts in a barrel at the wharf, during

Dwayne Phillips

a customs check, was yesterday remanded to prison on two charges of illegal gun and ammunition possession.
Forty-five-year-old Dwayne Phillips, of 77 Robb Street, Bourda, Georgetown, appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, and denied the charge which alleged that between January 1, 2016 and July 11, 2017 at GNSC wharf, Lombard Street, he had one 9mm Glock pistol and one 9mm Taurus pistol in his possession when he was not a licenced firearm holder.
It was further alleged that between January 1 and July 11 at the same wharf, he had in his possession 56 rounds of 9mm ammunition, when he was not a licenced firearm holder.
Phillips was represented by Attorney-at-Law, Keoma Griffith. The lawyer asked that his client be released on bail. He told the court that Phillips is a driver in the United States and he came to Guyana to visit his 10 children. The attorney said his client had cooperated fully during the investigations.
Police Prosecutor, Arvin Moore objected to bail being granted to the defendant citing the serious nature and prevalence of the offence as well as the penalty the change attracts.
The prosecutor also told the court that if bail is granted to the defendant he would not return to the court for the trial.
Phillips was then remanded and instructed to make his next court appearance on October 16. According to reports, the barrel was shipped to Guyana from Brooklyn, New York, and the guns and several rounds of matching ammunition were found stashed in bike parts.

Baby boy and girl 12 sodomised

 Oct 15, 2017  News 0 Comments

-girl’s step-dad, mother, relative in custody,

The Childcare and Protection Agency and police are probing two separate cases of sexual abuse, in which a 12-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy were sodomised by close relatives.
The attacks on the victims were so severe that both had to undergo medical treatment. The two-year-old remains hospitalised.
The girl’s stepfather and another male relative have reportedly been sodomising her, with her mother’s consent, for over a year, ever since she was eleven.
The two men and the girl’s mother, have been in custody since Friday. Reports indicate that the mother was herself repeatedly sodomised by her partner. She reportedly suggested that the partner turn his attention to her daughter.
The suspects are likely to appear in court on Monday.
Describing the case as ‘sickening’, Childcare officials confirmed that they are also probing the rape of a two-year-old boy, allegedly by his great-grandmother’s partner.
The matter was reported by the victim’s mother. Kaieteur News understands that the alleged culprit has gone into hiding, even as the infant remains hospitalised.

Driver chopped to death, father’s fingers hacked off

 Oct 16, 2017  News 0 Comments

• in brawl over banana plants

A driver was brutally murdered while his father is in a critical condition after a man went berserk, chopping them during an argument over some banana plants at Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara yesterday.
Dead is Harrinarine Ramawaj, 31, a driver of Estate Road, Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara.
His father, Chanderpaul Ramawaj, 59, had two of his fingers hacked off during the brawl.
Investigations revealed that the man and his father went to their cash crop farm—which has been in operation for over 40 years—where they discovered some of their banana plants damaged and a wooden structure erected. A 43-year-old labourer of Sawah, Cane Grove East Coast Demerara, was in the structure.
An argument broke out between the farmer and the labourer, who dealt them several chops about their bodies.
Harrinarine and his father were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where Harrinarine succumbed.
The suspect, who sustained injuries during the confrontation was treated at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital and taken into custody.

Finally this regime that condones buggery jailed the buggerer.

Cops arrest City Constable who had sex with detained juvenile

 Oct 18, 2017  News 0 Comments

It took almost two months, but the city constable who forced a detained 15-year-old boy into a sexual act last August has finally been fired and arrested.
Police took the disgraced lance corporal into custody yesterday at Brickdam, some hours after the Mayor and City Council dismissed him for “gross misconduct.”
Kaieteur News was told that a policeman went to City Hall to arrest the accused city constable, only to be informed that he was no longer there, since he had been fired. He was eventually located and taken into custody.
In a letter signed yesterday by Town Clerk Royston King, the rank was informed that he had been dismissed “with immediate effect…due to your gross misconduct, between Tuesday August 22, 2017… at the Regent Street Outpost, where you engaged in a sexual act with a juvenile.”
But it was just a day earlier that King had said at a statutory meeting that “nothing has been proven,” against the lance corporal, and that the accusation was “one of mere allegation.”
King had also said that based on the preliminary investigations, “there are certain missing links in the case.”
But the City Constabulary corporal who witnessed the sex act, and reported it, was also given the boot yesterday.
The Town Clerk’s letter informed the rank that he was being dismissed for “dereliction of duty.”
“You stated that you saw Lance Corporal (name given) engaging in a sexual act with a juvenile in the custody of the City Constabulary, but took no action. Further, you made no entry of the occurrence in the station diary,” the letter stated.
Explaining further the reason for the dismissal, City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green told Kaieteur News that the corporal had “failed to protect a juvenile.”
“You see something like that, you take control of your station. You don’t allow an unnatural act to happen.” She added that officials received “new information,” on the case, and this led to the dismissals.
Refuting any part in a cover-up, Chase-Green again stated that it was she who had insisted on an investigation, after learning of the allegation.

The dismissal letter for the senior rank who witnessed the incident

“The Chief Constable lapsed. It was not until I brought the matter to the Full Council, and gave the Chief Constable 24 hours to give a report or be sent home (that action was taken),” Mayor Chase-Green said.
She also hinted that “may more officers” may be disciplined when the investigation is completed.
Although the incident happened in August, City Hall only investigated the matter after Kaieteur News broke the story.
But even then, the probe had appeared to be stalled.
Mayor Chase-Green had said that the alleged victim had given a statement, but a guardian who was present refused to sign it. She also said that the alleged victim “has not been presented to the Legal Affairs Committee.”
But the investigation gained momentum last week after officials from Childcare and Protection Agency located and interviewed the victim.
An official said that a birth certificate revealed that he was 15, and not 16, as was claimed in reports by City Hall.
In the statement he gave to a City Constable, the juvenile, of no fixed place of abode, said he was arrested on August 22, for loitering and placed on the prisoner’s bench at the Regent Street Enquiries Outpost at City Hall.
He alleged that around 23:00 hrs, a male constable took over, and about 02:30 hrs, the constable woke him and told him to lie on his back, which he did. Shortly after, the male rank told him to stand by the washroom. Another rank then came in and requested a firearm, which the first rank handed over. The two men sat watching a movie for awhile. Eventually, the officer with the firearm left, while the other returned and unbuttoned the juvenile’s pants, placed a condom on the juvenile’s privates and let the teen have sex with him.
According to the teen’s statement, the officer who had collected the firearm returned shortly after. The rank allegedly pointed at the teen and said that he would “speak to me seriously in the morning.’
It was this same rank that stated that he saw the incident. He alleged that he was sitting at his desk when he heard someone moaning. He peeped through a vent and saw his colleague, a Lance Corporal, having sex with the prisoner. After, the lance corporal went to the washroom with a condom he had removed from the teen’s privates.
The rank then reported the matter.
Mayor Chase-Green confirmed that the same Lance Corporal was previously investigated for a similar act. She said he was placed on close arrest for seven days and a report was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The Mayor said that the accused was reinstated, however, after the DPP indicated that there was insufficient evidence to lay charges.

Man on the run after setting wife’s house on fire

 Oct 19, 2017  News 0 Comments

Up to press time yesterday, the police were trying to locate a man, who allegedly tried to kill his 38-year-old partner before setting her Lot 182 Da Silva Street, Newtown, home on fire around 21:30 hrs on Tuesday.
The fire not only destroyed June Cato Jervis’s home but it damaged her neighbour, Adunni Orderson’s house which is located at Lot 182 Da Silva and D’Abreu Streets.
The suspect has been identified as Kerwin Jervis. He was reportedly physically abusing his wife Tuesday night—just before he allegedly set the house on fire.
Kaieteur News was informed that the suspect reportedly stabbed his wife and then set the house on fire. The woman reportedly managed to escape just after her husband ran out. Neighbours reportedly told the police that they saw the woman with her bloody clothes.
Reports are that she was taken to the hospital for treatment but the police were unable to locate her at the hospital yesterday. “We look everywhere but we couldn’t find her,” a police source said.
The victim’s brother, who asked for his name to be withheld, said that he was heading home from church when he received information that his sibling’s home was on fire. The property is owned by him and his sister but Jervis has been living there.
The sibling said that he went to the scene of the fire, hoping that he would have seen his sister but did not. He got information that she was taken to the hospital but when he got there; his sister was not a patient there.
He even received information that the mother of two died as a result of her injuries but could not confirm the news. “Her children’s father was here looking for the two boys but no one has any idea where they are,” the brother said.
Neighbours yesterday claimed that the woman was a victim of constant domestic violence. “He (suspect) does beat her a lot. Almost every day he beating her and neighbours cannot intervene because she does turn back and curse them.”
Anyone with information on the victim’s whereabouts is asked to contact the nearest police station.
Meanwhile, Orderson, who has been living at the property for the past 42 years, said that she was asleep when she heard her children screaming. “I heard the children screaming for me and I started screaming myself.”
Orderson said that it was only when she got out of her bedroom that she realized that her neighbour’s house was on fire.
“It was confusion. I had to run in back to get my baby and then we had to jump the fence because we weren’t finding the gate keys.”
The lower flat of Orderson’s home was not destroyed.

Businessman whose car broke down shoots would-be teen robber

 Oct 24, 2017  News 0 Comments

A would-be teen robber appeared to have picked the wrong victim last Sunday night. He is now nursing a bullet wound and thanking his lucky stars.
According to police, the 17-year-old suspect of ‘D’ Field Sophia, Georgetown was shot in the left thigh, and is receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Police said that a 40-year-old city businessman had stopped at the Turkeyen Public Road, East Coast Demerara, around 21:30hrs on Sunday after his vehicle had developed mechanical problems. Seeing the man’s dilemma, the teen seized the opportunity to pounce, but was shot for his efforts. Police said the businessman is a licenced firearm holder.
The suspect is under guard at the hospital and an investigation is in progress.

Cop allegedly takes $1M inducement to raid strip club

 Oct 25, 2017  News 0 Comments

– Transferred to Mounted Branch to facilitate probe

It seems like the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is having another embarrassing month.
Shortly after Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, admitted that the force was having a bad month with the robbery of Lonsdale Withrite, former SWAT leader and the disappearance of cocaine from the office of the head of the Police’s narcotics, another rank is in hot water.
This time a Police Corporal is being investigated for allegedly taking $1M bribe from one strip club to raid another.
According to reports, on Saturday night the Corporal and a team of policemen went to one of the strip clubs and carried out a raid. They interrogated all the entertainers about their travel documents. It is unclear if any of the female workers were detained for overstaying.
Kaieteur News was informed that someone who witnessed what was taking place saw the ranks leaving in a vehicle belonging to the owner of the competing strip club. The incident was immediately reported.
Reports are that investigators checked the number plate of the vehicle that was used to transport the ranks to the Strip Club and confirmed it is owned by the strip club that allegedly recruited the ranks.
The ranks who participated in the raid were then reportedly questioned and they revealed that the raid was actually organized by the Strip Club owner. They allegedly revealed details of the raid to investigators.
It is unclear if all the ranks were transferred but the Corporal was sent to the Police Mounted Branch.
Investigation is being carried out by the Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

Nine held hostage, suspects escape with victim’s car

 Oct 25, 2017  News 0 Comments

Three men on Monday night stormed the business place and home of a family, where nine were held hostage and robbed of valuables. The Police have since been able to put their hands on surveillance cameras that were situated in the business, where the identities of the men are likely to be discovered since they were not masked.

One of the men caught on camera

According to a victim, she left home in her red Toyota Runx, PPP 8667. She arrived at the shop around 21:00hrs when she saw a man lying flat on the ground. She said she was of the opinion that he was drunk and proceeded until she saw a man coming out with a gun. The woman said she tried to run back to her car but was dragged into the shop by one of the four men.
She recalled that three of the men were armed with guns and one was outside “looking out”.
Nine people were on the floor, including the shop owners, according to her. The men sped off in one of the victim’s car with cash, jewellry and shop items.
“Nobody was injured but they just pull we hard,” she said.
Ranks from the La Grange Police Station arrived at the scene 15 minutes after the incident occurred.
The victim said that she wishes for her name to be withheld.
She informed that the shop keeper would have noted that there is usually a gang of boys that would “lime at the shop”. However, on the evening of the episode, they were not present.
The men were all unknown to the victims who included three women and six men.
Investigations are ongoing.

Prison officer nabbed with smart phones, ganja in sting operation

 Oct 26, 2017  News 0 Comments

The seized smart phones

Police and prison officials have thwarted what appears to be a massive smuggling racket at the Mazaruni Prison.
A release stated that a 27-year-old prison officer was arrested at around 09.00 hrs yesterday in the prison’s bachelor’s quarters.
At the time, he was in possession of nine new cell phones with chargers, a SIM and a memory card, and 403 grammes of cannabis sativa. The items were in a haversack on the rank’s bed. He was reportedly nabbed during a sting operation.
Last August, a Chief Prison Officer was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle a quantity of marijuana to an inmate in the Timehri Prisons.
The drug was concealed among the prisoner’s meals. The accused rank is in his fifties and has some 20 years service. Police are still seeking legal advice on the matter.

Foreign nationals among nine arrested at Barima River

 Oct 26, 2017  News 0 Comments

– as high-powered rifles, ammunition, ganja and bullet proof vest found in their boat

Some of the items that were recovered

A Jamaican, a Cuban and a Venezuelan are among nine persons in custody, after two high-powered rifles with 19 matching rounds, 1.5 kilogram of marijuana and a black bulletproof vest were found in a boat in which the men were passengers.
They were detained at the Mabaruma Police Station and are expected to be brought to the Criminal Investigation Department in Eve Leary, Georgetown, where they will be interrogated by the Major Crimes Unit ranks.
According to information received, ranks from the Guyana Police and Defence Forces intercepted two boats—one towing another, around 14:00 hrs on Tuesday.
A party of lawmen went to Barima River, North West District, after receiving intelligence that foreigners were in the area with illegal weapons.
Kaieteur News was informed that the ranks were immediately deployed to the area where they intercepted a metal boat measuring 25 feet in length powered by a 40- horsepower Yamaha engine, captained by a 62-year-old man, with three occupants.
That vessel was towing a blue and grey fibreglass boat measuring 23 feet in length powered by a 250-horsepower Yamaha engine, and carrying five passengers. A search was carried out on the fibreglass boat and the two high-powered rifles with ammunition and the bulletproof vest were found under the bow.
A further search was conducted around the stern area of the vessel and a black handbag was found with a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis. It was later tested, weighed and amounted to be 1.5 kilogram.
The suspects were identified as Junior Jack, 19, a sailor of Mabaruma; Donstant Rodrigues, 38, a captain of Mora Moruca; Cuban National Samuel Alvaroz, 25; Shawn Phang, 49, a miner of School Road, Port Kaituma; Dexter Valenzuela, 44, a captain of Lot 8 Bent Road, Crane, West Coast Demerara; Corvin Griffith, 48, a captain of lot 187 Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara; Jamaican National Delroy Mairs, 53, a mason of Albouystown; Venezuelan National Rafael Ramon, 33, and Carrigon Khan, 62, a boat captain of Jacklow, Pomeroon River.
Recently, there have been a series of attacks on mining camps in the North West District by foreign- speaking gunmen.
This newspaper has been informed that ranks will question the men to determine whether they are linked to any of the robberies.
Investigations are ongoing.

Looks like the PNC freed one of their own traffickers. 

Vendor freed of cocaine in fish charge

 Oct 26, 2017  News 0 Comments

Magistrate Rushell Liverpool yesterday dismissed the case against a fish vendor who was charged for trafficking over 18 pounds of cocaine in frozen fish at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
Mohammed Alli, 51, of Jalousie, West Coast Demerara, was accused of having 9.044 kilograms of cocaine in his possession on June 8, last, for the purpose of trafficking.
According to reports, ranks of the Police Narcotic Branch intercepted and seized the cocaine in a cargo shipment of frozen fish at the airport. Court facts revealed that the defendants declared 33 boxes of fish to be exported.
Routine checks were done on the cargo by the ranks and the cocaine was found concealed inside of the seafood.
Magistrate Liverpool ruled in favour of the defendant, citing that the prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
The defendant was represented by Attorney-at-law Bernard DaSilva.
In June, last, the defendant’s two children Shafur Alli, 27, of Lot 27 La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara and Lazena Imrazie, 22, of Lot 8 Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara, who were accused of having 9.044 kilograms of cocaine in their possession on June 8, last, for the purpose of trafficking, had the matter against them dismissed by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly in the Georgetown Magistrate’ Courts.
Both siblings were represented by Attorney Bernard DaSilva. The attorney had always claimed that his clients had no knowledge or possession of the prohibited drug.

‘China Town’ supermarket robbed for the sixth time

 Oct 27, 2017  News 0 Comments

A Chinese Supermarket, popularly known as “China Town” operated by a 26-year-old Chinese national was on Wednesday night robbed by two unidentified perpetrators.
The business, located at Number Two Village, East Canje, Berbice is one of the main shopping spots in Canje. A quantity of phone cards and cash were stolen from the business.
Zhou Chunmin and his uncle, Chang Sang, a 43-year-old labourer who lives in the upper flat of the building, had secured the premises at around 20:50 hrs.
According to the victim, Chang had placed the articles in the building’s storeroom under a pallet and had ventured to the upper flat but as he entered he felt a lash to his head. He immediately rushed back downstairs to the supermarket.
Zhou stated that he was in the storeroom when one of the suspects, armed with a cutlass ordered him to not move or he would be shot.

Robbed yet again: China Town supermarket

The other suspect who reportedly hit Chang on his head came down from the upper flat and ordered both men to hand over the phone cards and cash that was placed under the pallet earlier. The business owners, fearful for their lives, handed over the articles. Both perpetrators returned upstairs and made good their escape.
Police sources revealed that the men entered and exited the building by removing zinc sheets from the roof of the upper flat in the washroom area.
Over $100,000 in Digicel and GTT phone cards were stolen along with $210,000 in cash. Both men were reportedly armed with a cutlass and gun.
This is the sixth recorded robbery at the business.
Investigations are ongoing.

Hijacked car recovered in Albouystown

 Oct 27, 2017  News 0 Comments

Following a hijacking and robbery in Westminster, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, ranks have been able to locate the red Runx Toyota motor car, bearing registration number PPP 8667. The car was taken when four men stormed the business place and home of a family.
According to reports, ranks identified the vehicle in Albouystown and took it to the West Ruimveldt Police Station for further investigations.
The owner of the car related that she was informed by police at the La Grange Police Station that two men were arrested on Thursday and were subsequently released after questioning.
On Monday night a home and business place was stormed by four men, three of whom were armed with guns.
The men took off with jewelry, cash and shop items in addition to one of the nine victims’ car.
The men were caught on surveillance cameras. The footage is currently with ranks from the La Grange Police Station where investigations are ongoing into the matter.

Fake kidnapping of Trini…‘Kidnappers’ booked victim’s plane ticket

 Oct 29, 2017  News 0 Comments

Trinidad national, 33-year-old Sawak Maraj, seems to have an obsession with kidnapping.

Alleged kidnapped victim, Sawak Maraj, was taken back to the hotel where he was discovered.

In 2001, Maraj was supposedly abducted in Trinidad and Tobago and his alleged kidnappers demanded a ransom of TT$200,000 from his parents, who own a real estate business in the twin-island republic. Another time he was allegedly kidnapped in the United States of America.
While the Trinidadian cops were never able to connect the dots, they did find it strange that in less than an hour after the ransom was paid, the alleged victim managed to run away from his so-called kidnappers and ended up in front of a police station.
And of course, Maraj did not see his kidnappers’ faces because they took his spectacles.
Fast forward 16 years later, the mechanical engineer was kidnapped once again but this time in Guyana and the case was cracked.
While investigators from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Major Crimes Unit have already established that the Trinidadian national faked his own kidnapping, he continues to stick by his story of being abducted.
And, like the 2001 scenario, Maraj has told ranks that he did not see his kidnappers’ faces because they took away his spectacles, cash, phone and gold chain.
“This man changes his story by the seconds. He said the kidnappers took his glasses but last night (Friday) like he forget and went in his bag and pulled out his glasses to read his statement. Then when he was asked, he had some long story,” a police source said.
The 33-year-old man was taken back to the hotel at Madewini Resort up the Soesdyke/Linden Highway yesterday to provide a detailed account of his so-called kidnapping.

How it all started…
Maraj’s kidnapping was planned in his home country with the assistance of two other Trinidadians. It is unclear if they were the same persons who plotted his abduction 16 years ago.
The first Trinidadian arrived in Guyana on Wednesday and managed to organize with a local bus driver to move him around.
On Thursday, another Trinidadian arrived on a Caribbean Airlines flight and his accomplice picked him up from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Before the two men left the airport, they booked Maraj’s ticket for 07:00am the following day.
The two men, accompanied by the bus driver, then went to the Ramada Princess Hotel and made a reservation for the 33-year-old man.
The reservation was made for Thursday night. One of the Trinidadians went into the hotel with the Guyanese bus driver to make the booking.
The Trinidadian wore a hat to hide his face.

Fake kidnapped victim arrives…

The image that was sent to Maraj’s relatives.

Shortly after 07:00 hrs on Friday, Maraj was seen walking out of the airport. He was greeted by the two Trinidadian men and they even hugged. They then walked towards the vehicle that was waiting in the parking a lot.
The three men then headed to the Madewini Resort where they were greeted by the staff before Maraj checked into his room.
The engineer came to Guyana under the pretext of attending an interview for a job with ExxonMobil in the local oil and gas sector.

The cutlass to neck…
Back in Trinidad, all was well until the engineer’s parents received a phone call that their son was being held hostage in Guyana and a ransom of TT $700,000 had to be paid to an account, which the alleged kidnapper claimed was in Colombia.
The parents were sent a photograph of a cutlass braced against the neck of their son, who was only clad in his boxers and a pair of socks.
Contact made with Guyana Police Force
Maraj’s frantic relatives immediately made contact with the Guyana Police Force and informed them of their son’s alleged kidnap.
Investigators acted immediately, and were able to not only track the call but also to narrow the location where the call was made.
While this was taking place, ranks checked the security camera footage at the Ramada Princess Hotel to see who had made the reservation for Maraj.
On the footage, the Guyanese bus driver’s face was visible. Having gotten the location where the ransom call was made, ranks went to the Soesdyke area, looking for abandoned houses or buildings with blue paintings (based on the picture Maraj’s family received.”
As luck would have it, someone in the area identified the bus driver and gave police his address—he lives about three doors from the hotel where the 33-year-old man was staying.
“Ranks went to his house but he wasn’t home so they got his number and called him and he came right away. He was showed the footage and he admitted that he collected the two Trinidadians and dropped them off at the hotel not far from him,” a source said.

Scene at the hotel…
As ranks arrived at the hotel some circled the facility, while others provided coverage for their colleagues to enter.
On entering the room where the ‘victim’ was being held, they found him sipping a fruit juice, relaxing. He immediately pulled a towel over his face.
Kaieteur News was informed that the cutlass that was in the photograph was found on a bed in the room. The other two Trinidadians had managed to escape just before the cops got there.
While the bus driver is cooperating with the police, they suspect that he might have tipped off the two ‘abductors’ that the police were on their trail.
“He (alleged victim) wasn’t tied or beaten or gagged. He was normal as ever,” a police source said.

Interrogation…
The fake kidnap victim and the bus driver were escorted to the Criminal Investigation Unit where they were both grilled.
Despite the fact that the police confronted Maraj with all the details they managed to acquire, he maintained his story that he had been kidnapped. He alleged that the kidnappers took US$300 from him but ranks discovered the money hidden in the same room in which they found the 33-year-old man.
“This man lying through his teeth. We got him for sure but he keep changing his store like he trying to convince himself that he was actually abducted,” the source said.

Profile of the alleged kidnapped victim…
Maraj claimed that he has a degree in mechanical engineer from an Australian university but this is yet to be confirmed. He is 33 years old and has worked for eight months in his entire life and this was in 2012.
Maraj admitted that he does not have access to finances and that his parents would give him money whenever he needed.
To come here, his father gave him US$300 to pay for accommodation. “This man is a lazy man. He wanted money so he faked his kidnapping,” the source said.
Up to press time, ranks were checking immigration records in a bid to find the two Trinidadians who collaborated with Maraj.

The crime carnage continues under Ramjattan's watch.

Proprietor beaten as bandits storm Corentyne beer garden

 Oct 31, 2017  News 0 Comments

A businessman of Number 65 Village, Upper Corentyne is the latest victim of armed robbery after five men stormed his beer garden Sunday night.
The men who were all masked and heavily clothed with bag packs on their backs, were all sporting guns, including what appeared to be an AK-47 machine gun.
There were caught on surveillance footage storming the business and ordering customers to lie on the ground as they searched them.
Proprietor of Mike’s Beer Heaven (Murphy’s), Krisendatt Hemnauth, aka ‘Murphy’, who was hit on the head with a gun by one of the men, told Kaieteur News that it was approximately 19:30 hrs when some persons who were at the front of the business left and he secured his gate.
“I get ah gate that I does lock down at the back when it meet certain hours but it was still early so me ain’t press down the lock. Me stand up and dem bai was drinking at the back in the shop and all of a sudden I see four men at this gate,” Hemnauth recounted.
The businessman stated that one of the men opened the gate while he stuck his gun through the grill.
“Dem tell everybody fuh go on we belly and dem just walk in and throw up a shot in the air and one out of the four come straight to me and he lash me on me head. I fall and me turn back. When I turn back he lash me in me head again and me na move back.”
According to the injured businessman, the men, after barging in and ordering everyone in the building to lie face down, searched the customers and took away cellphones and cash.
The men also grabbed money from his cash drawer. His 21-year-old son who was also at the shop was kicked and stomped on by one of the bandits.
Hemnauth sustained a gash to his left temple.
“Dem had to know me. The person wa come, he come straight to me and then dem kick up meh son,” he stated.
Hemnauth disclosed that a customer who was also present during the ordeal was the only person that was not searched. This, he said, was seen on the surveillance footage.
“The footage show that only dat one person they didn’t touch, the one person deh flat, the camera show this man pushing away dem man AK when dem point it around. Dem na even touch he.”
The men, after grabbing the cash and cellular phones made good their escape the same way that they entered but not before locking the customers and the proprietor in the shop.
A door was also damaged after one of the perpetrators smashed his gun on the locks.
One of the customers who was told to lie on the ground while being searched and robbed stated that after the men rushed in he initially, he thought that the police were raiding but then they fired a shot.
“They kept saying everybody get on the ground, check on the white clothes one and so on. I had $44,000 on the table…they took that and my Galaxy S6 Edge cellphone”.
Over $1M was carted off in total along with six cellular phones. No one has been arrested.

Rest assured that the pnc/afc will ensure this coke is put back into circulation within their syndicate. Apparently this man did not get permission from Granger to ship cocaine, so he pay the price. 

Big Europe-bound coke shipment busted

 Oct 31, 2017  News 0 Comments

The cocaine that was discovered in rice

The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Saturday unearthed over 147 pounds of suspected cocaine in a container of rice destined for Belgium, Western Europe.
The discovery was made at the John Fernandes Wharf on Saturday. Operatives from the Container Control Programme assisted in the raid.
According to information received, the substance was discovered hidden in sealed 45-kilogram bags of rice destined for export to Belgium.
The bags bore the label of a company called Golden Grains Investment owned by an Andre Poonai.
The company is located at Lot 111 Barr Street, Kitty.
Up to press time, CANU ranks were looking for a shipper in Mahaicony who sources said was not a regular shipper. He had made a similar shipment in 2012 and has since been under the radar.
Kaieteur News was informed that the raid commenced at the wharf since Friday, last, and the finding was uncovered just before noon the following day. The bags of rice were in five containers but the substance was found in one of the containers.
CANU said that the exercise saw the offloading and searching of five 20-foot containers filled with rice. The containers were scheduled to leave Guyana the same evening the raid started.
The broker responsible for the shipment was taken into custody and is assisting in the investigations.

Sheer wutlessness going on under the pnc/afc crime syndicate.

Male sex workers remanded for robbing elderly man

 Oct 31, 2017  News 0 Comments

Two male sex workers who were recently charged for robbing two Presidential Guards with a chopper, were yesterday back before a City Magistrate to answer to another robbery charge.
Twenty-one-year-old Kevin Forrester of Beterverwagting, Side Line Dam, East Coast Demerara; and Godfrey Cox, 19 of High Street, Georgetown, appeared before Principal Magistrate, Judy Latchman in the Magistrates’ Courts.
The duo denied the charge which alleged that on October 24, last, at Croal Street, they robbed Victor Bess of $84,000 and US$370 and at the same time used personal violence against him.
Police Prosecutor, Shawn Gonsalves objected to bail being granted to the duo citing the serious nature and prevalence of the offence.
The prosecutor also told the court that it was while the two defendants were out on bail for a similar offence that they committed a new offence.
The Prosecutor added that if bail is granted to the defendants they would not return to court for the trial.
The prosecutor’s objection was upheld by the magistrate and both men were remanded to prison. They were instructed to make their next court appearance on November 20.
A few months ago, the same duo was charged for allegedly robbing two Presidential Guards with a chopper. Particulars of the charge alleged that on July 19, 2017 at Main Street, Georgetown, the duo while armed with a chopper, robbed Nicolai Reddie of a Samsung cellphone valued $54,000 and $800 cash.
It is further alleged that on the same day and location, they robbed Akeem Haroon of a Samsung cellphone valued $60,000 and $400 cash.
The duo denied the charge when it was read to them. They were both released on $25,000 bail by Senior Magistrate, Fabayo Azore.

Thieves break into businesswoman’s vehicle near cremation ground

 Oct 31, 2017  News 0 Comments

While a 54-year-old businesswoman was paying her last respect to a relative at the Ruimzeight, West Coast Demerara (WCD) cremation ground on Friday, thieves were outside treating themselves to the valuables in her car.

The window that was broken by the thieves.

The men escaped with two flat screen televisions and an undisclosed sum of cash after breaking a window on her vehicle.
Around 13:30 hrs on Friday, Indra (only name given) went to the cremation ground. She could not get parking outside the cremation ground so she decided to park in a street not so far away.
“I had a lot of money in my purse so I didn’t want to take it inside the cremation ground because it had a lot of people so I leave it in the car and I went inside,” the businesswoman said.
She further added that after the body was cremated, she went to her vehicle. “I opened the car and I stretch to get a cigarette from my bag but I didn’t see it in the front seat, so I turn to see if I leave it in the back but then I didn’t see the TV,” the woman recalled.
Indra explained that she immediately got out of the vehicle and shouted for a relative who was close-by. “When we check the car, they broke the small window at the back. I had one TV in the trunk and one in the back seat.”
The woman said that when she examined her vehicle, she noticed the men had tried to damage her door locks but after they failed, they broke the window. “My car has alarm but I couldn’t hear anything because they had music at the cremation site.”
The matter has been reported to the police but no arrest was made.

Looks like the jackass granger and his wife found a new way to fleece the nation by sending out "imposter" to do their dirty work. Now they get ketch, first lady pressured into saying "is nah me" . These jackasses expect us to believe that in small Guyana they got another person that looks like Sandra. 

FIRST Lady Sandra Granger has again lamented that there is a woman going around impersonating her, and telling people that she (the impersonator) is in a position to help them in various ways when it is not true.

Granger is urging the public to beware: “If anyone claims to be the First Lady and claims she can get scholarships for them … don’t believe.

“Inform your friends and family that, the First Lady and her husband (President David Granger) have no scholarships to offer. All government scholarships come through the Ministry of Public Service,” she insisted.

More recently the con artist has allegedly been telling people that she can get visas for them. About the offer to get them visas, the First Lady made it clear: “Only countries can issue visas to their respective countries.”

The woman who goes around with an assistant has already fleeced hapless victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars of their hard earned cash and has been called out by the press before.

The First Lady also recalled that there is one woman who, in tears related that she had she sent the con woman $90,000 with the hope of her daughter and niece obtaining scholarships as promised, but that did not materialise.

Drugb posted:

2 nabbed at city hotel with unlicensed gun, ammo

October 13, 2017

27

 

Two men were taken into Police custody following a raid at a city hotel on Thursday, during which a .38 special revolver and six matching rounds were unearthed.
Based on reports received, Police, acting on information, swooped down on the hotel and conducted searches on the two men.
Apart from the gun and ammunition, a handcuff and six mobile phones were also found in their possession. They are assisting police with investigations.

On Wednesday, during a press briefing, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine disclosed that the Guyana Police Force has recorded a 33 per cent increase in robbery with violence but at the same time a nine per cent decrease in serious crimes.
He also noted that murders have decreased by 13 per cent, while there has been a 15 per cent decrease in robbery under arms, a six per cent decrease in robbery under arms with the use of other instruments, and an 8.5 per cent decrease in rape.

This revolver looks like a Smith and Wesson 356 magnum not a .38

Drugb posted:

Bartica businessman found with illegal pistol

By admin -

 

November 3, 2017

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POLICE have arrested a 45-year-old businessman of Bartica, Region Seven, after an unlicensed .32 pistol was found on his person during a search at Falls Top Armu, Bartica.
A release said that police acting on information, went to the shop and conducted a search on the suspect and found the pistol in his possession. Charges are expected to be laid soon.
Meanwhile, police from “F” Division (Lethem and other Interior Locations) who were on mobile patrol about 23:00hrs on Wednesday at Armu Backdam, Bartica, attempted to stop a motorcycle driven by a male suspect who subsequently dropped a black haversack and escaped.
Police said initial investigations revealed that six transparent wrapped plastic parcels of cannabis sativa were found and amounted to 3.28kilograms.
A road service licence with registration number CG 9942 was also discovered. Investigations are continuing

This pistol looks like a cheap Chinese made Norinco. 

Gunmen rob overseas couple at Kitty seawall – escape with car

 Nov 05, 2017  News 0 Comments

A 55-year-old Indian national and his wife became the latest victims of a carjacking which seemed to have become out of control lately with one reported cases weekly.

The car that was hijacked.

The victims are Harjeet Singh Lakha, an engineer and his 40-year-old spouse, who asked for her name to be withheld from the article.
According to information received, at around 20:15 hrs on Friday, the couple was at the Kitty, Georgetown seawall enjoying the cool air when they were confronted by two bandits—one was armed with a gun and another with a knife.
The two men, who used their hats to hide their faces, robbed the couple of their cash and cellular phone before escaping in their Toyota Premio motorcar bearing registration number, PNN 3428.
The 40-year-old woman said that she and her spouse were sitting on the wall when she suddenly felt a gun to her waist and then realised that it was a robbery.
Another man had a knife to her partner’s waist also and demanded their valuables while urging that they remain quiet.
“These men appeared from nowhere. I was facing the ocean and my husband was facing the road when we were confronted but none of us see them coming,” the woman explained.
She added while the men held the weapons to their waists, they were busy raiding their pockets for valuables.
“They took the cash he had and his phone and they see the car keys. They collected it and walked straight to the car and drive away,” the woman said.
At the time of the robbery, no other persons were on the seawall but the 40-year-old victim of Garnett Street, Kitty said that liming at that spot has become a norm for them.

Mom allegedly gives son gun to kill enemy

 Nov 05, 2017  News 0 Comments

An ongoing gang-related feud in Sophia, Georgetown ended in the most tragic manner Friday night with the arrest of a 44-year-old security guard, who allegedly took home her service resolver for her teenage son to “finish off” his enemy.

Jamal Munroe

The night ended with the death of 24-year-old Jamal Munroe, a labourer of ‘C’ Field Sophia, Georgetown.
Munroe had a lengthy rap sheet; there were numerous armed robbery charges.
He sustained gunshot wounds to his legs, upper hand and lower back. He died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The suspect, 19-year-old Mark Ferral, is on the run but his mother, Deborah Caesar, has been arrested. It is alleged that she took home her .32 pistol and handed it to her son. The weapon is now in police custody and will be sent for ballistic tests.
According to reports, there was an ongoing war between Munroe’s gang and the suspect, his mother and about four of his brothers. It started about two months ago when there was some disagreement over a gambling board.
Last week, both the suspect and the victim were running each other with cutlasses in the village. At least two of these incidents were reported to ranks at the Turkeyen Police Station.
Two days ago, 24-year-old Munroe reportedly stabbed Ferral. Ferral then went to the station and made a report. He was also given a medical certificate to seek treatment at a hospital.
Kaieteur News was informed that the police never located Munroe after that stabbing incident.
On Friday night, reports are that Ferral spotted his attacker and confronted him, asking if he (Monroe) still wanted to kill him.
“Munroe, not knowing a gun was involved, started to behave like a bad man and the suspect (Ferral) pulled out the gun and shot him,” a police source revealed.
The victim was rushed to the hospital where he later died while the suspect escaped. This newspaper was informed that the shooting incident occurred in front of the suspect’s mother and siblings.
In April 14, 2015, Munroe, called ‘Ocku’, was charged with robbing Lloyd Butchey of a gold chain, a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone and $12,000 in cash.
On March 31, 2016 at Lot 56 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice, Munroe and another broke and entered the home of Erica Hope and stole two laptops, two cell phones and a DVD player.
Munroe was placed on $100,000 bail on each charge.
He was charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. He was also charged with robbing a Guyana Defence Force Lieutenant of one Apple cell phone.
He was also facing another charge of burglary in which he stole one Acer Laptop Computer, one HP laptop computer and one tablet. He has a number of ongoing matters pending, including break and enter and larceny, simple larceny, robbery under arms and throwing missiles among others.
Munroe who was on bail, had fled the area. He was subsequently nabbed in Georgetown while being in possession of narcotics and was placed on $20,000 bail. He was unable to post the bail and was remanded to Prison there.
He had given his name as ‘Junior Munroe’ and a wrong address.
He was on bail again when he committed the last two atrocities.
In April 2016, Munroe was charged with robbery under arms and burglary.
His address was given as Lot 31 Savannah Park, New Amsterdam. It was alleged that he and others had robbed Lloyd Butchey of a gold chain, a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone and $12,000 in cash.
Munroe was also part of a gang that caused a prison fracas that occurred in the New Amsterdam Prison in 2014 in which four prisoners were brutally beaten and slashed.
That attack is widely believed to have caused the ensuing prison fracas in which Azumulla, and other high profile prisoners Quame Bhagwandin, Clarence Williams called ‘Wild Hog’, and Davendra Harrichand called ‘Bara’ were injured.
In September 2016, Munroe was shot in the abdomen during an altercation with ranks of an anti-crime patrol in Berbice who went to arrest him.
He somehow managed to flee into some nearby bushes, but turned up at the New Amsterdam Hospital from where he was transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital in a critical condition.
Later, he was out on bail after being charged with several offences.
Just three months ago, his brother, sacked prison officer Troybon Munroe of Canje, was shot dead when he and an accomplice attempted to rob a businesswoman on the Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown Railway Embankment Road in the vicinity of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.
The dead man’s accomplice, Mark Griffith, of Wismar, Linden, turned up at the Georgetown Public Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest.
The robbers had trailed the businesswoman from the Eugene F. Correira International Airport, where she had gone to collect a quantity of raw gold that had earlier arrived from the interior.

Two held for alleged rape of ‘drugged’ Corentyne schoolgirls

 Nov 06, 2017  News 0 Comments 

Police have detained two men in their twenties in connection with the alleged drugging and rape last Tuesday of two 14-year-old girls along the Corentyne.
Police Public Relations Officer Shivpersaud Bacchus confirmed that the men were held yesterday.
A police source revealed that the men have denied the allegation and are instead claiming that they met the alleged victims, who were in a drunken state, on a roadway and offered them assistance.
It is claimed that the teens had half of a bottle of alcohol in their bag packs. The source disclosed that a teacher from the school noticed the girls acting strangely.
She then informed the head teacher who upon searching the bag found what appeared to be alcohol.
Both students were given letters and told to return with their parents.
The girls reportedly returned home, but changed into casual wear and headed out to a nearby liquor shop where they engaged a “drinking spree”.
The girls reportedly visited several rum shops in the area. It was at one of the liquor shops that the girls allegedly met two men and offered to buy them beers, which they did.
The girls subsequently left the shop and were walking along the road when they met the two suspects, who were on bicycles.
The men are claiming, that the girls were “throwing up.”
According to the suspects, the schoolgirls asked the men to take them to the suspects’ homes to “clean themselves up”. However, on arrival, the teens reportedly fell asleep in a hammock. They reportedly left the suspect’s house early the following day.
According to the police source, the mother of one suspect asked who the girls were, and also attempted to question the girls about where they resided. However, the teens were reportedly too intoxicated to respond.
After they returned home and the report was made, the ‘victims’ were taken to the hospital for a medical examination, which reportedly revealed that they were sexually active.
But the examination seemed to indicate that they had not been engaged in recent sexual activity.
Initial reports stated that the mother of one of the girls was demanding justice after claiming that her daughter was drugged and raped.
The mother had stated that her daughter claimed that she and her friend were walking home from school when two young men, said to be in their twenties, offered them a drop in their car.
“Them girls like them been frighten to come home because wah happen at school. Them take them girls a rum shop and give them beers and me daughter say them promise fa put them in taxi,” she said. But them give them the tablets and then take them to them house. Them separate them and take them different house,”
The matter was reported at the Number 51 Police Station and the Springlands Police Station.

Masked men raid Coverden business

 Nov 06, 2017  News 0 Comments

The incident took place at Arjune’s business located at lot 6 Coverden, East Bank Demerara.
Arjune, 23 was robbed along with several others who were in the business place at the time.
Her cashier, Davina Joe, was relieved of her Samsung Galaxy S4, while Raymond Caliavio, 29, of Kuru-Kururu, Soesdyke Linden Highway was relieved of his Samsung Galaxy S5.
Police reports suggest that the victims were inside the depot and were suddenly confronted by the men who held them at gun point and demanded their belongings.
The suspects then fled the scene in a silver-grey Premio.
The matter was reported to a nearby police station some 20 minutes after the episode. Efforts were made to locate the suspects but proved futile.
Investigations revealed that Nadira Arjune is a co-owner of Arjune Chicken Depot.
The building is a two-story concrete structure that faces east. It is fenced and has a driveway for customers.