A CANU chase into Buxton and the arrest of a Vigilance man with a large quantity of suspected cannabis yesterday triggered resistance from villagers and hours-long unrest on both the main road and embankment as blockades were created and a truck set ablaze.
Traffic on both sides of the village was interrupted just after 11 am yesterday up until around 5 in the afternoon.
The standoff ended after a village leader urged those on the road to remove.
Hours after the unrest began, the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) issued a release explaining the operation.
CANU said that it conducted an operation on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), to intercept a motor vehicle which then drove into Buxton and evaded the officers on several occasions, including at a roadblock on the Buxton public road.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of twelve parcels of suspected cannabis which amounted to 23.2 kgs. The driver, Odearie Phillips, 25 years of Vigilance Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, was arrested.
The street value of the suspected cannabis is approximately $7m.
CANU said that members of the public became hostile, assaulted several of its officers and damaged some of the unit’s vehicles in an attempt to free Phillips who was in lawful custody, by pulling him out of CANU’s vehicle. This resulted in several shots being discharged in the air, CANU said.
It appears that the discharge of the bullets incensed villagers.
In a separate statement yesterday afternoon, the Guyana Police Force said that CANU carried out an intelligence-led operation where they pursued a white Toyota Premio motor car.
“The car ended up in Company Road Trench at Buxton. A 26-year-old male resident of Vigilance South, ECD, was arrested and a search was carried out on the car, where a quantity of suspected Cannabis were found.
“As a result, several villagers came out and tried to take the suspect away from the CANU Officers.
“Several shots were fired by CANU Officers in a bid to deter the crowd and they managed to escort the suspect to CANU Headquarters. The crowd became annoyed and started to place debris on the main thoroughfares, East Coast Highway and Railway Embankment and lit same, causing vehicular traffic to come to a standstill”, the police said.
At that point, the police said that the crowd had increased to about 300 persons, and fires were lit between Company Road, Buxton and Friendship, ECD.
A motor lorry bearing registration # GSS 2230 and belonging to Rayaad Hack of De Hoop, Mahaica was then set afire. The vehicle which was being driven by a 33-year-old of Greenfield, ECD, was proceeding east along the public road when it was set alight by the protesters. It was completely destroyed by the fire.
The police added that a 28-year-old resident of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, who was driving motor vehicle registration #BMM 5769, reported to Police at the Fort Wellington Station, that he had been cuffed several times by persons unknown who relieved him of $300,000 on the Buxton Public Road.
Two fire tenders arrived at the scene and, subsequently, ranks of the Joint Services cleared the debris from the roadways and traffic began flowing.
The scene was visited by Commander 4 ‘C’, Assistant Commissioner Khali Pareshram and other Officers/Ranks in Regional Division 4C. Joint Services Patrols continue to dominate the area, the police said.
Stabroek News arrived at the scene at 12:20 pm. At this point, the motor lorry had already been set ablaze and access was blocked both on the railway embankment and the East Coast Highway. Around 100 residents were on the public road then.
Items such as tires, garbage and pieces of wood were set ablaze. Schools within the vicinity were immediately dismissed and business owners began closing their shops, gas stations and restaurants. A few police officers were on the scene at this time.
At the height of the unrest, about 400 people gathered and took part in the protest. The traffic then came to a standstill.
At approximately 1 pm the residents began throwing glass bottles at the police officers. Regional 4 ‘C’ Division commander, Pareshram, told reporters that, “there was an operation by the Customs Anti- Narcotic Unit this morning which led to the unrest of the residents of Buxton. There was a protest by the residents based on the CANU operation which led to the blockage of the roadway within the vicinity of company road.’’
Pareshram said that leaders of the community were engaged since the Guyana Police Force did not want to use force to remove the residents from the road. “We are still engaging the leaders of the village at this time in order to clear the road. At another level we are collaborating with the CANU as it relates to the investigation.’’
A resident told Stabroek News that some houses were shattered by bullets fired by the CANU officers. Commander Pareshram said “initially I was told by a few residents on my arrival here I’m waiting at the end of this operation to further engage them. The protestors vowed to continue the rioting if the suspect remains in police custody.”
Sections of the road were badly affected by the fire and as a result of this some potholes were seen. Commuters parked their vehicles. Motor bikes and horse carts were then used to transport people around the blockades to their destination. Many workers were stranded because vehicles were unable to use the road. Profane and threatening language was used against the ranks and commuters.
Two fire tenders from the Guyana Fire Service arrived on the scene and extinguished the truck fire. The blaze was not easily extinguished since it was the fuel tank that was on fire at the time and sand had to be used to extinguish it.
The debris was eventually cleared from the road at about 5 pm.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued its own statement.
“An intelligence-led operation this morning resulted in the interception of a motor vehicle bearing registration number PRR 6703 with several bundles of cannabis amounting to 51.2 pounds in the vicinity of the village of Buxton.
“A suspect has been taken into custody, and the drugs found in the car have been seized by law enforcement officers.
“Some warning shots were fired in the course of the operation to stop the fleeing vehicle, which ended up in a nearby trench.
A protest has erupted where a large number of persons are engaged, resulting in the blocking of the roadway with a demand that the fugitive be released”, the statement said.
It called on persons blocking the roadways and engaging in other illegal activities to desist.
