Guyana seems to be going ten steps backwards since Ramjattan took over the crime fighting responsibility. He must be replaced to save President Granger from further disgrace.

Another illegal gun, ammunition turned in

…as amnesty continues to bear fruit

Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan in discussion with residents prior to the commencement of the community meeting at Whim, Corentyne, Berbice

The recently launched firearm amnesty continues to bear fruit as the police continue to receive weapons. Yesterday was just another collection day. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Kaieteur News that the force received another illegal .32 pistol and 194 matching rounds of ammunition yesterday. They also received three 16-gauge and three 20-gauge shotgun cartridges on West Coast Demerara. This is in addition to the two pistols and one shotgun along with a large quantity of ammunition that were turned in last week. The rate of surrender of illegal arms and ammunition is viewed as an insult to detractors of the amnesty programme. Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, has expressed his satisfaction so far with the gun amnesty initiative. He is urging persons to “bring in those illegal guns.” In an invited comment, following his address to the gathering at the community meeting at Whim, Corentyne, Berbice, on Saturday, the Minister told the Government Information Agency (GINA), “I am pleased that the first day was wonderful; to get a 1000 rounds of ammunition is worth the whole month, quite frankly, and we must be proud of the fact that it is working.” The Minister further stated that during his visits countrywide to address Guyanese, he is also using that opportunity to promote the initiative. “As I come to these meetings, I am telling people, get those friends and family who you know got guns that are illegally possessed and persuade them to bring them in,” he said. Minister Ramjattan explained that the initiative is one of many which the Administration will implement in its crime fighting efforts. “It is only one of the tools in the tool box, there are lots of things we have got to do, gun amnesty is one,” Ramjattan explained. The Minister has again issued a strong call to persons who possess firearms illegally to turn them in during this one-month amnesty period. “I am promising that if you don’t bring them in this month, and we catch you, we are going to ensure that you don’t get bail,” Ramjattan asserted. He advised that the law enforcement agencies are getting ‘tip-off’ as to who possesses illegal firearms. He pleaded with those persons to take those guns in to the nearest police station. The Minister assured that if caught with any illegal firearm after the one-month amnesty period is over, ‘persons will be jailed with no bail.’ The Gun Amnesty initiative was introduced on September 1, last, and provides for persons to hand over unlicensed firearms and ammunition to the law enforcement agencies without facing prosecutions. The amnesty ends September 30.

You must understand that criminals infiltrated the police force and army a long time before May 11. They have also infiltrated commercial banks, tipping off their partners-in-crime when people withdraw big money.

Why do you take things personally? Get over it. You made your point and we make ours. Nothing personal.

That's right Gilly. Since the PNC time.

Correct but since the PPP got in power they really perfected crime. It's now much harder to rid the country of crime due to this but I'm hoping in time the new Govt will take care of the situation which was ignored by the previous govt.

Police recover stolen $4.5M, after busting fake robbery scheme

Gilbert Bailey had grown accustomed to transporting large sums of money for his boss, a Regent Street businessman, until a bright idea crossed his mind.
What if I took all this cash and claimed that I was robbed, was a thought that probably took hold in his head; for that is exactly what he did on Monday last.
But his carefully thought out plan unraveled when he made the mistake of reporting the matter to the wrong police unit; the much vaunted major crimes unit of the police Criminal Investigations Department.
The investigators were able to put together bits and pieces of information along with a lucky break which resulted in them cracking a case that otherwise might have gone unsolved.
On Monday, as is the custom, Bailey was entrusted with a large sum of money by his employer to take to another location and he seized the opportunity to put his plan into operation.
He organized with another man, who police say is a known character, to stage a hijacking.
Bailey picked up the man near the Woodlands Hospital and together they drove off to Parade Street near another hospital, the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.
When the car stopped, another man, who was also a part of the plan, rode up and collected the box of cash and rode off with the other accomplice.
All went well and Bailey decided that now was the time for him to put the other part of the plan to the test.
He went to the nearby Criminal Investigations Department and reported that he was hijacked. His story did not convince detectives from the major crime unit. According to reports, they were suspicious from the start. Bailey had not covered his tracks cleanly.
The detectives’ hunch proved to be correct, when a man came in and told them that he had seen Bailey “hailing up” one of the accomplices, who is known in criminal circles, on Parade Street.
Armed with this information, the police kept Bailey in custody and made the trip to the known accomplice’s home on East Bank Demerara.
A search was carried out and the police recovered a stash of cash in excess of $3M in a black bag in a bedroom.
The suspect was arrested and it was he who spilled his guts and told police about the entire plot.
Acting on further information he provided, the detectives went to the home of the other accomplice, where they met his wife.
The woman, sensing trouble, handed over another $1.5M in cash, all in $5000 bills.
“She had strictly $5000 bills. Like he took all the $5000 left them with all the $1000 and $500 bills,” a source close to the investigations told this newspaper.
The police are still to arrest the other suspect.
When contacted last evening, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed the story and praised his ranks for their professionalism.
“They are seasoned detectives and they were able to crack the case and recover all the money,” Blanhum told Kaieteur News.