Perpetrator’s
sister nabbed with $5.7M
Victim
missing, ranks detained
GDF soldiers confess to
strangling Bartica resident
‘Eyewitness’
fingers Coast Guard vessel in Essequibo River mishap
Four
soldiers accused of robbing a mining camp
Police
in crimes
Three ranks from the Guyana Defence Force Coast
Guard were arrested yesterday afternoon following a
brazen multi-million dollar robbery in the Essequibo
River.
The men were nabbed at Parika, East Bank Essequibo,
after police recovered one-third
of the stolen money.
The victim 23-year-old Dweive Kant Ramdass of Bartica
has not yet been found and is believed to have been
killed.
At the time of the robbery, Ramdass was reportedly
heading to Bartica with $17M to transact business on
behalf of his employer.
Kaieteur News understands that Ramdass along with
several other passengers were in a speedboat which had
just left the Parika Stelling when they were
intercepted by the ranks who were in a green GDF Coast
Guard boat.
The Coast Guard ranks ordered the speedboat back to
the stelling where they pretended to be searching the
passengers. It is believed that they had already
singled out Ramdass who was carrying the money in a
box.
Eyewitnesses recalled seeing the army ranks arguing
with Ramdass at the Parika Stelling.
According to one eyewitness, when the speedboat was
forced back to the stelling, the Coast Guard ranks,
who were all carrying rifles, took Ramdass out and
questioned him about the contents of the box he was
carrying and one of them was seen peering into the box
with the cash. They then ordered Ramdass into their
boat and sped away.
A source closely associated with Ramdass told Kaieteur
News that the young man had made several similar trips
and it was definitely a case of him being closely
watched.
During the trips, Ramdass would normally maintain
contact with the source from the time the person
dropped him off at the Parika Stelling to when he
arrived at Bartica.
“So we does communicate… like every ten minutes we
calling one another,” the source stated.
He said he left Parika after he had ascertained that
Ramdass was already in a boat and headed back down the
West Coast of Demerara, all the while maintaining cell
phone contact with him every 10 minutes. Then suddenly
the contact was severed.
“From since then I say something wrong, dis man does
normally call me when he reach. Was sheer voicemail,
voicemail,” the source said.
The man said minutes later he received a call from
Ramdass’ brother who asked him if he had heard what
happened to the young man.
“He say dem Coast Guard gone with he brother. I say
how Coast Guard could gone with he, we don’t do
undercover business,” the source told this
newspaper.
He immediately decided to return to Parika where he
managed to contact the Sergeant in charge of the GDF
Coast Guard who was on the base.
“He say he expect them back and he tell me give he
ten minutes. I tell he I can’t give he ten minutes
because is life we playing with and money involved,”
the source related.
Eventually contact was made with the three Coast Guard
ranks and they claimed that they had dropped off
Ramdass at Bonisika, a location up the Essequibo
River, not far from Parika.
Minutes later another call was made to the ranks and
this time the source said he heard someone shouting,
“don’t answer the phone, don’t answer the
phone.”
He then tried to secure a boat to go and look for
Ramdass. But just as he was about to do so, he got
word that the Coast Guard ranks had returned to Parika.
He confronted them and enquired about Ramdass’
whereabouts.
“I ask dem wha dey do with de youth man. Dey ask me
which youth man and I tell dem de youth man with de
box wha y’all put in y’all boat. One ah dem seh,
‘oh, dat man pay we twelve grand fuh drop he at
Bonasika.’”
But the source said that he did not believe the ranks
and invited them into the nearby Parika Police
Station.
However, one of the ranks, instead of going into the
station, walked off towards the stelling where he held
a brief conversation with a woman before rejoining the
source and his colleagues in the station compound.
“Den one of me partner tell me come out pon de road.
When I go me partner show me this girl with a bag wha’
de Coast Guard banna just give she.” The police
eventually arrested the girl and a check of the bag
revealed $5.7M in cash.
“Just as how the money pack; just so it been in the
bag. Dey had a lil girl with she who say that this man
(Coast Guard) call she hurry, hurry fuh collect de
bag,” the source told this newspaper.
The girl happened to be the sister of one of the ranks
involved in the robbery.
She too was taken into custody at the Parika Police
Station. There are reports that two other parcels of
cash were placed into two cars which were seen
speeding away from the Parika area.
Police set up roadblocks along the West Coast of
Demerara but they have not yet recovered the cash.
Investigators are convinced that the Coast Guard ranks
abducted Ramdass and took him to an unknown
destination further up the Essequibo River where they
relieved him of the cash.
At 23:15 hours relatives of the missing Ramdass, along
with his employer were combing areas in the Essequibo
River in search of him. A senior official of the GDF
Coast Guard went to Parika and was seen interviewing
the ranks.
Police believe that the same men may have been
responsible for the deaths of Jainarine Dinanauth and
boat captain Henry Gibson in what initially appeared
to be a boat mishap almost two weeks ago also in the
Essequibo River.
Dinanauth’s 10-year-old son, Ricky Jainarain, who
was traveling in the boat has not been found.
A damaged wooden boat
On Tuesday, August 11, last, a search party found a
damaged wooden boat with the bodies of Dinanauth, 45,
of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, and Gibson, 46, of
Hogg Island, Essequibo River, drifting in the vicinity
of Hogg Island.
The bodies were discovered after Dinanauth’s reputed
wife launched a search, after not seeing the three
persons arrive at Hogg Island at a specific time.
Markings on their damaged boat showed that it was
struck by a green boat, similar to the one used by the
GDF Coast Guard.
Friday, August 21, 2009
