Cops chasing lead on suspect in Brazilian miner’s murder

A police team has returned to the North West District after receiving information about a suspect in the fatal ambush that left a Brazilian miner dead on Tuesday.

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said that the team travelled back into the area yesterday.

Jose Francisco De Sousa Lema was shot dead and his father-in-law Julian Cummings injured after they were attacked by three masked bandits, all armed with guns. The duo had left their camp around 6 am after a wash down the day before. Less than an hour later, as their ATV approached a bad patch in the roadway in the Barama area, some 100 km from Port Kaituma, the gunmen suddenly appeared.

They shot Lema before he could say anything and immediately turned they attention to Cummings.

They later escaped with seven ounces five pennyweight of raw gold, which represented what was gotten from the wash down while $160, 000 and eight pennyweight of raw gold was taken from Cummings.

Cummings managed to make his way back to the camp, which was over two miles away and workers contacted his sons, who operate dredges in other parts of the North West. One of them arrived with help and took Cummings to the Matthews Ridge hospital. He was later transported to the Georgetown Hospital, where he was treated and discharged.