-illegal miners had offered soldiers gold to avoid being turned in
The general manager of the mining camp which was allegedly robbed by four soldiers two Thursdays ago at Five Star, Region One, and another worker were flown to the city yesterday morning and are expected to give further statements to the police.
Stabroek News was told that the men left with a high-powered police and army team, who were in Port Kaituma over the weekend, early yesterday morning.
Reports are that an army lieutenant and three ranks are expected to appear in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court today.
Last Wednesday, the Guyana Defence Force issued a press release in which it announced that it had handed over an officer and three ranks to the police following an allegation that they had robbed a mining camp at Five Star in Region One. The release had said that members of a GDF investigative team, who had received reports about a robbery, intercepted the patrol of one officer and three privates and found a quantity of gold and cash on them.
Further information reaching this newspaper on what really transpired at the mining camp when the army patrol visited indicated that the miners offered the soldiers three pennyweights of gold each in exchange for them not being removed from the camp because of their illegal status.
Sources told Stabroek News that when the soldiers arrived at the camp the general manager, who is married to a Guyanese, was in the pit while the other men were out doing other work. The patrol demanded that the men produce their work permits and passports among other documentation. After the documents were handed over it was found that all of the Brazilian miners, numbering nine, were illegal, some even had expired passports.
The soldiers then told the miners that they would have to be taken out of the back dam and handed over to the police because they were working illegally.
At this time the general manager was alerted and when he left the pit and heard what was happening he informed the officers that someone would have to remain at the camp to ensure that nothing was stolen and since he was not illegal he would remain.
The other miners then started to beg the army ranks to give them a chance and one of the ranks told them that they would “flex” with then and then asked what they had to offer. The miners then offered three pennyweights each of gold and this was accepted by the army ranks.
But the miners had no gold and a camp employee offered to loan them the gold and it was agreed that at the next `washdown’ the miners would repay the debt. The employee then weighed the gold and gave it to the soldiers who then left.
Reports are that the owner of the camp was in Port Kaituma at the time of the incident and he was later alerted to what transpired and reported to the police station. The officers at Port Kaituma alerted their superiors in Georgetown who in turn informed the GDF.
The GDF quickly assembled an investigative team which went into the area and interrupted the patrol of the four army ranks and found the gold and cash in their possession.
It is not clear where the money came as from all indications no money was taken from that particular camp.
Stabroek News was told that the Brazilians had told police officers who had journeyed into the back dam that they wanted no further investigations into the matter.
However, a senior government official instructed that the ranks remain in the back dam and not only take statements from the miners but to bring them out to testify against the soldiers.
The order resulted in the general manager and the other miner being flown to the city yesterday.
