Suspected gold thief beaten to death at Tamakay Landing

Police yesterday reported another murder in Region Seven, Cuyuni/Mazaruni, where an accused raw gold thief was beaten to death at Tamakay Landing, Middle Mazaruni, about mid-day on Thursday.

Up to press time last evening, the details of the murder were sketchy and the dead man was not identified. Police said in a statement that he was allegedly beaten after he was caught “raiding a ‘sluice box’ for gold.” A team of police ranks has been dispatched to the area to investigate, police said, adding “No other information is presently available.”

Stabroek News was reliably informed that ranks from the Bartica Police Station left for the location around midday yesterday. Because of the remoteness of the area, the ranks are expected back sometime today. There were two other murders in the region within the past week. All are being investigated by ranks from the Bartica Police Station.

On August 29, around midday, miner Sylvester Simon of St. Ignatius, Lethem was stabbed to death at Apaikwa Landing, Middle Mazaruni. Two other persons were also injured after an argument erupted between Simon and his attacker. Chris Primus, a resident of Moco Moco, Region Nine, has since been charged with murder.

Two days later, on August 31, Vincent Williams, called ‘Teddy Bear’ was chopped in the head and stabbed following an argument over a woman at 14 Miles, Issano. Prior to the 4 am incident, police said that the suspect and Williams were consuming alcohol.

The suspect was tied up by public spirited citizens and handed over to the police when they arrived in the area. The man, Leon Husain, was charged yesterday with murder (see story on Page 15).

Observers had repeatedly raised concerns over the seemingly out of control crime situation in the interior regions. In addition to murders, there have been numerous armed robberies at mining camps. Stabroek News was told that many crimes often go unreported because of the difficulty in reaching law enforcement officers.

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud during an interview in May blamed the police’s inability to adequately tackle crime on the geography of the area, the scattered population and inadequate communication systems. In spite of this, he had explained that police continue to conduct stop and search exercises, regularly patrol mining and logging communities. They have also been working closely with companies to try and bring the situation under control.

Late last month, a five member gang took advantage of the lack of security in the interior and raided three mining camps at Aranka, Cuyuni River.

Police Commissioner Henry Greene had told this newspaper that the group went to the area with the sole intention of robbing Brazilian camps. The police acting on a tip off managed to arrest the quintet, which included a woman. While responding to questions on the recent upsurge of gun crimes in the interior regions, Greene said that the biggest challenge the police face is the price of gold. He explained that the price of gold is very high and is captivating people to move to the interior. He said that people make more money in the interior than they would on the Coast and it is because of this that criminal elements end up there. Another problem in the interior is the consumption of alcohol which has been a contributing factor in several murders so far for this year.