Bartica
massacre suspect held
Stolen vaults,
rifle recovered
Wednesday, August
20, 2008
Police have arrested another man fingered in the February 17 Bartica
massacre and have recovered two metal vaults and a brief case
containing documents which were identified as belonging to the
CB&R mining company which was robbed on the night of the
killings.
A police press release last night did not state where the suspect
was arrested or the vaults found.
Another police release which came at the
same time however revealed that the rifle had been recovered during
Monday’s confrontation in Buxton which the Joint Services had not
officially commented on until last night.
The
vaults stolen from Bartica
The release said that an operation in the
Buxton Backlands between Sideline Dam and Middle Walk Dam on Monday
resulted in the discovery of a .30 Carbine (rifle), 238 7.62×39
rounds, 76 .30 rounds, 2 spent 7.62×39 shells,
2 magazines for the .30 Carbine, 1 AK 47 magazine, 1
Fragmentation grenade, 1 Bible, 4 camouflage hammocks, 1
machete, 1 blue tarpaulin, 2 black backpacks, 2 knapsacks, 2
pairs of boots, 2 pairs of rubber slippers, 1 toque, 1 tin CRC, 2
jars peanut butter, 2 bed sheets, 5 pants, 7
jerseys, 2 black leather belts, 1 duffle bag, 2
pairs of yellow and green slippers, 2 cellular phones
(Motorola and Nokia), 1 small bottle iodine, 13 pain killing
tablets, 1 large bottle baby oil, 3 toothbrushes, 1
toothbrush case, 3 tubes Colgate toothpaste, 2
bottles deodorant.
The release further stated that
investigations revealed that the weapon found is one stolen from the
Bartica police station on the night of February 17.
According to the release a Joint Services
patrol was operating in the Backlands when they were shot at by
persons unknown. The ranks took cover and returned fire but it is
not clear if any of the gunmen sustained any injuries. A subsequent
search of the area resulted in the above mentioned items being
found.
Police officers had also ventured to the
Aranka Landing in the Cuyuni River to investigate the shooting of
two men, who were transferred to the GPHC from the Bartica Hospital.
Reports reaching this newspaper are that one of the men was wanted
by the police regarding his connections to a “Buxton gang.” The
man was arrested and under police guard at the hospital.
Two men have been charged so far with the
Bartica killings. Roger Simon, a 44-year-old miner and father of
nine who is a resident of the community, was the first person
charged for the 12 murders in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on
April 9. Seven weeks after he was charged, Clebert Reece called
‘Chi-chi’ of Lot 63 Barr Street, Albouystown, a 30-year-old
miner who works in the Cuyuni area, was also charged with the murder
of the 12 persons on February 17.
Meanwhile a number of persons have been
charged for their association with the ‘Fineman gang’ whom the
authorities believe is responsible for the Lusignan, Bartica and
Lindo creek massacres.
The items recovered by
the police
(Police photos)
Around 9.45 on the night of February 17 an
estimated 15-20 gunmen rampaged through Bartica. Reports were that
three of the men were left to guard the river while more than ten
others assaulted the community in the hour-long attack. The police
outpost was first attacked and three officers were killed while two
others were seriously wounded. The gang of gunmen carted off several
firearms and ammunition from two strongboxes at the outpost.
The gunmen then descended upon the CBR
Mining Company, further up First Avenue and shot 72-year-old
security guard, Irving Ferreira even as he attempted to flee. Once
inside the building, the gunmen broke into a safe and removed 11
guns: six shotguns and five .32 pistols and a quantity of
ammunition. Police said that the gunmen also took away two safes
containing gold, jewellery and cash.
The other persons killed in the attack were
Bartica residents Edwin Gilkes and Dexter Adrian; policemen
stationed at the Bartica Police Station – Lance Corporal Zaheer
Zakir and Constables Shane Fredericks, Ron Osborne and Deonarine
Singh who was from Wakenaam; Ronald Gomes of Kuru Kururu, Ashraf
Khan of Middlesex Essequibo, Abdool Yasin, Errol Thomas of Tuschen,
East Bank Essequibo and Baldeo Singh of Montrose East Coast Demerara
were shot execution style at the Transport and Harbours Stelling.
After their deadly strike at the mining
company, the bandits turned their attention to the home of a
businessman and broke into the heavily-grilled home of Gurudat
Singh, a gold dealer of First Avenue, a short distance away from the
company. Firing their weapons and then using a sledge-hammer, they
broke a window and knocked out part of a concrete grill to gain
access to the home. Singh said that the gunmen took away two attaché
cases.
On March 7 the joint services had issued a
statement revealing that they had unearthed one of the 11 12-gauge
shotguns that had been stolen from CBR owner Chunilall Baboolall
abandoned in a camp at Bucktown, Wismar, Linden. The lawmen had also
retrieved Baboolall’s Guyana passport and his National Insurance
Scheme card. The documents were found along with a quantity of
eating utensils, a searchlight, a green tarpaulin; a hacksaw blade,
and an empty plastic water container, among other articles.
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