Three suspected pirates, who attacked several fishermen off the Pomeroon River and the Waini Coast last weekend, were apprehended by police and the Coastguard during a raid in the North West District.
According to a police press release, acting on information received from residents and fishermen, the police conducted an operation in the Morawhanna and Barima River areas in the North West District on Monday night.
During the operation, three men were arrested and five outboard motor engines, a quantity of fish glue, a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) device, six cell phones and a boat that was used during the robberies were recovered by the police. Two other men managed to escape the police dragnet.
The police stated that the boat was stolen from an area on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) and is believed to have been used in five incidents of piracy.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told this newspaper yesterday that there is conflicting information as to whether there were five or four men who were pursued by the lawmen on Monday night. He noted, however, that one of the men who escaped was recognised by the police and a wanted bulletin is expected to be issued for him soon.
According to reports, the police were provided with information as regards the escaped men’s whereabouts and efforts were being made yesterday to trace them.
Reports are that the police operation began around 3 am yesterday at Morawhanna, after ranks in the region were informed that the perpetrators of the pirate attacks last weekend were in the Barima /Waini area.
The police and a team of soldiers ventured into the area and launched a search for the pirates, who were found at an area located some 20 miles north of Moruca, along the Waini Coast. The police operation occurred on the sea and reports are that the lawmen encountered resistance from the suspected pirates, during which two of the men escaped. The apprehended men, a teenager and two middle aged men, are suspected to be from the Region One area. They were brought out of the area yesterday during daylight hours and handed over to ranks at the Charity Police Station, where they were being grilled by the police up to last evening. Several fishermen, who were attacked by the masked men on Saturday morning in the Pomeroon River, ventured to the police station at Charity to assist the police with their investigations.
Fishermen at Charity commended the work by the police and others at the Meadowbank wharf in the city also applauded the work of the law enforcement officers. They noted, however, that they will maintain their calls for fishermen to be issued with firearm licences, saying that piracy will continue to haunt the fishing industry if there is no proactive move by the authorities to stem the problem.
The authorities have been criticised by fisher folk as pirates have launched several brutal attacks on fishermen for more than a decade within the country’s waters.
On Monday, a fisherman at the Meadowbank wharf said that last weekend’s incident has left many fishermen traumatised and they were planning to suspend their operations for several days in order the protest recurring pirate attacks.
The there have been several meetings as well as exchange of correspondence between the fishing industry and the government on ways and means to limit pirate attacks. The fisherman noted, however, that nothing has been done by the authorities to date. This year there have been several attacks on fishermen at sea, including in February of this year, just off the Essequibo Coast, where as many as 15 boats were attacked and crew members severely beaten as they were robbed in one of the largest attacks on fishers over the years.
That incident led to several fishermen protesting, first at Mon Repos, and then in front of the Office of the President, where they demanded that security be increased by both the coastguard and the police. As a result of their protest action, they met President Donald Ramotar and had discussed security at sea. The president had promised to address their concerns, but they noted this week that nothing has been done to date to stem the attacks.
