Man held in Gafoor’s compound being questioned on blaze

A man was arrested on Saturday night in the Gafoor’s Houston Shopping Complex compound by security personnel and handed over to the police.

Sources told Stabroek News that the man is being questioned in relation to the fire at the complex on the East Bank Demerara last week Monday which followed a much larger one in May this year.

Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of the fire which engulfed a bond just after 6pm.

Gafoor’s Executive Chairman Sattaur Gafoor, last week announced that his company has hired a US investigator to determine what transpired. He pointed out that it was difficult to operate in a situation where they were not certain about what happened.

According to Gafoor, the same day the fire erupted they had opened the bond after packing it with US$2M in stock which was mainly for the Christmas season.

Gafoor said that the second fire was “not normal” and that in the event of a third fire, the directors have made certain decisions, which he could not disclose.