Driver shot, passengers robbed
Heavily armed bandits struck on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway last night, shooting the driver and a female passenger of a mini-bus that was heading to Lethem and robbing the travellers of cash and jewellery before escaping.
During the course of the incident, driver Dhanram Singh called ‘Bedi’ was grazed by a bullet in the back while Brazilian national, Barbara Ferreira was shot in her wrist. Ferreira had run into the bushes as the incident unfolded and was not located until after 11 pm.
Lucky to be alive: Dhanram Singh at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre last night
Singh remained on the scene and was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre over an hour after the incident.
The attack occurred around 8:30 pm and the bus was carrying nine passengers; five Brazilians, two Surinamese, and two Guyanese, who were all heading to Lethem. Singh told Stabroek News that he left the Church Street office of the P&A Bus Service, at around 8 pm.
He recounted that he had passed the police outpost on the highway and was in the vicinity of Camp Wesleyan when he observed as a car followed him. He said that he became suspicious and sped up but the car followed and “flashed” him. “It start flashing me to stop but I speed up because I realize I ain’t know nobody on the highway”, he stated.
The car, followed and when it was apparent that Singh was not going to stop, the bandits started firing shots. The bandits, who he said, numbered around seven or eight, were in two cars. They shot out the back tyres of the mini-bus forcing him to stop. The driver stated that a number of shots were fired and some hit the seat that he was in but miraculously missed him.
After the vehicle was halted, the passengers were taken out of the vehicle and made to lie in the bushes. One group of heavily armed gunmen ransacked their luggage and also guarded them while another group patrolled the area. Singh said that the bandits had handguns and shotguns.
The gunmen stripped the passengers of cash and jewellery before getting back into their cars and heading back in the direction of the city.
Earlier, after the bus had been stopped, Ferreira had run into the bushes. After the bandits left, the police were notified but Ferreira was not found and the immediate area was searched. At around 11 pm last night, the army arrived to assist in the search and shortly after, she was located. She had sustained a gunshot wound to her wrist.
Singh was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where doctors told him that he was lucky to be alive. His shoulder bone was said to have deflected the bullet. He was later referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he remained up to early this morning.
There were no reports of anyone being caught up to press time.
There have been similar attacks in and around that area. Just over a year ago on October 1, 2007, two MMC Security Force guards were killed and two injured after they were ambushed by eight gunmen, who also hijacked their vehicle, at Sheribana Bridge in the Essequibo. Rodwell Clarke, 41, of 154 ‘D’ Field South Turkeyen and Warren Hutson died in the attack.
Around noon the men were on the MMC Security Force vehicle, escorting cash to the city when they came under attack. Chief Executive Officer of MMC Carl Morgan told Stabroek News that the four men, all constables employed with the firm, had just uplifted canisters with cash from the company’s ferry location in the interior when the incident occurred.
According to Morgan, just as the men approached the Sheribana area, they were ambushed by eight heavily armed men dressed in allover black outfits.
On April 26, 2006 one person was injured and several others robbed at gunpoint after a bus with 41 persons en route to Lethem was attacked by six gunmen who appeared to be after a large sum of elections money which they thought would be on board. Sources had told Stabroek News that it appeared that the gunmen may have gotten wind of a plan to transport $2M by road with elections workers who were headed to the region. However, arrangements for the transport of the money were changed at the last moment.
i am glad no one was killed….hope the injured recover fast….why did these people choose to travel in the night?.. i do hope they learn a lesson…no to travel in the night any more with large amount…………..i thought the armed force say they have break up all the gangs..is this a new one emerge?i hope they get caught before they strike again…..
they choose to travel because guyana supposed to be a free country that’s why they travel, and by the way i didn’t know there was a travel restriction in guyana.
True Guyanese, I am a guyanese currently living in the U.S,A, but while I was in Guyana I did visit Brazil quite frequently. The main reason for the night driving to Lethem is firstly it is a very long , hot and dusty trip and ( according to the drivers) there is less wear and tear experienced by the vehicle during these hours as well as being more comfortable on the passengers. Secondly, about a third of the way one encounters the Essiquibo river which can only be crossed presently by motorized pontoon that commences work at around 6 or 7 A.M so the travellers have just an hour or so to have a brief nap or snack at a restaurant that is coveniently located nearby. You would then arrive in Lethem around 2 the next afternoon in time to cath the last bus to Boa Vista( for those going onward to Brazil). Having said all of this ,it is true that better security is needed and if this type of behavior continues this will put a serious damper on travel between these two locations.
breaking news ballistic test on the weapons used proved that they were the same as used at previous attacks which proves beyond a shadow of doubt that fineman and skinny were there,these guys wont stay in their graves but intend to continue their criminal life style from beyond the grave
Give it a rest.
It’s obvious that the “notorious Fineman’s gang” isn’t/wasn’t the only one in existence. I’d love to know what the ballistics on these shells prove. I’m sure shells were found.
ask Fineman cousin he as the answer ha ha ha haaaa
their goes fineman and skinny again and it look like they did recuiting too
I usually travel the Linden highway quite frequently, and I can safely say that after certain hours there is no patrolling of this important and vunerable streach of road. Nothing the security forces do is on a sustained basis, but campaigns…..so we kill fineman and skinny….time to relax ….wait for the bounty money. it is widely known that the police only work in the day in Guyana….at nights the padlocks are on the gates…lights turned off…phones off the hook…vehicles in the garrage….”we respond only when a senior officer calls…our cell ….to alert us to whas happened two hours ago”
It is a releif to read no one got seriously hurt…..for the past week it seems everyday there was a fatality from voilence. No one nowwhere is safe in Guyana.
the police need to forget the critics and do what the got to do
slo fya — mo fya
yes i said it too much bareface nonsense going on for too long
Fineman and Skinny at their best again
GREAT LIFE WITH NOTHING TO OFFER
It seems that the other gang has emerge and is making their mark now, during the fine man saga it was rumoured that another gang was operating, while fineman was getting all the blame, now he’s dead and crime still remains the same and the crime spree is escalating, and the gpf doesn’t have a clue what is happening.
I wonder who can they be. This sound like an inside job. And now they cannot blame, FINEMAN AND HIS GANG.