Two Barticians, one of whom was found with a large quantity of gold in his possession, have been arrested in relation to the murders of gold dealers Ramdeo Deonarine and Jainarine Raghubar.
Police now have three men in custody for the double murder which sent shock waves through the mining community last weekend. Deonarine and Raghubar were discovered with deep wounds to their throats and their hands and feet bound in the kitchen of a Second Avenue building.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, speaking with this newspaper via telephone yesterday afternoon, confirmed that two men – in addition to the first reported by Commissioner of Police Henry Greene at a press conference on Tuesday – were arrested on Tuesday night. When questioned about where police arrested the men, Persaud declined to comment further.
However, Stabroek News has been reliably informed that the men were taken into custody at Parika. One of the men, this newspaper understands, was found with a large quantity of gold.
Greene had reported on Tuesday that police had learnt from the owner of the Second Avenue building Rickey Ramnarine that his office on the ground floor was broken into and $1.2 million in cash, 100 ounces of raw gold and two laptops were stolen. It was unclear whether anything was stolen from the two deceased, the commissioner had said, but it is suspected that the perpetrator(s) may have stolen a licensed firearm which belonged to Deonarine.
Ramnarine, Greene had reported, told police that he and Deonarine were friends and the man had keys to his Second Avenue building. Ramnarine said that the man also had an office on the ground floor where he would conduct his business. Raghubar, he also said, was his semi-partner.
After the bodies of Deonarine and Raghubar were discovered on Sunday morning Ramnarine was one of the first persons detained by police for questioning. The man, this newspaper understands, had been taken into custody periodically since then for questioning.
On Tuesday afternoon when he was once again released from police custody, sources at Bartica said, Ramnarine was rushed to the Bartica hospital for treatment. The man, hospital sources said, suffers from hypertension and is a diabetic.
Ramnarine has since been moved to a private city hospital where he is being treated.
This newspaper was unable to ascertain the man’s condition. When questioned about Ramnarine’s condition yesterday via telephone a male relative declined to comment and said that no one else was available to say anything at that time.
Deonarine and Raghubar were last seen by Ramnarine some time around midnight on Saturday. Ramnarine told police that he left the men for his Seventh Avenue home and several hours later got news of their deaths. A woman, who said she was Deonarine’s friend, made the discovery.
Investigations into the matter are continuing. On Tuesday Greene described the murders as a “cleanly committed crime”.
Since the incident, a Bartician told this newspaper yesterday afternoon, police presence had increased in the community.
“They have been randomly searching houses and people… there is no peace from the police this week and this will continue for another couple of days,” the resident said.
