2008 incident

micevan1l6

A young businessman has been the latest target for gunmen as the crime spree in the Bartica community continues. Reports are that motor spares dealer Banie Ramjohn, of Byderabo Road, was attacked on Thursday night.According to Ramjohn, the incident occurred at some time after 18:00 hours on Thursday. The businessman said he was sitting in his back verandah when he saw a man scaling his fence. Within minutes, Ramjohn said, the intruder whipped out a gun and placed it to his head. “After he pull out the gun, he tell me go inside; then he tell me strip, and he start questioning me,” the distraught businessman said.He added that the gunman wore a toque and a jersey to cover his face. “He start asking if I name ‘Ringo,’ which is my call name, and I said yes, and he ask if I building another house and I say no, then he tell me I got to have money,” the businessman recalled.Ramjohn added that the man then ordered him into his bedroom, and began ransacking the place. The man said he was then forced to hand over some three ounces of gold jewellery and $500,000 in cash. Thankfully, Ramjohn said, his wife was taking in the bathroom taking a bath throughout the ordeal.Following this latest incident, Regional Chairman Holbert Knights has expressed his disgust over the series of events in the community. The chairman said that, over the last two weeks, there were seven instances of robbery committed against the decent and law abiding citizens of Bartica. All were armed robberies.He added that, save for the February 17, 2008 incident, Barticians have never before been subjected to such high levels of criminality. He noted that residents are once again living in fear.“There seems not to be a day or two would pass without some family wailing and anguishing over the loss of their hard earned cash, valuables, and especially the fear and apprehension, thinking that, here again, we have to feel helpless and vulnerable,” Mr. Knights said.According to the Regional Chairman, the police have since made zero progress in either apprehending any of these criminals, or even, by their presence, causing a reduction in these crimes.As such, Knights said, he is, on behalf of the frightened and heavily traumatized residents of Bartica, calling on all stakeholders, the Government and the Joint Services to step up to the challenge that is facing Barticians and take the necessary and appropriate action to “immediately get rid of this scourge that is plaguing our beautiful town of Bartica.“There needs to be some new strategies, different approaches that will see the apprehension of these criminals,” Knights said.The Guyana Police Force, in a press release replying to Mr. Knights, stated that the police, supported by the Guyana Defence Force, have been doing their utmost to ensure the safety and security of residents of the Bartica community since the incident last year February.According to the police statement, between February 2nd and February 12th, there have been six reported robberies involving the use of firearms in the Bartica community.Investigations revealed that three of the robberies were perpetrated by one armed man; in two instances the victims were attacked by two men, and in the other case, the victim was attacked by a gang of three men, the police said.An assessment of the modus operandi of the robberies suggests that a three-man gang is responsible for the robberies, the statement added.Cognisant of the recent robberies that have occurred, the police stated, patrols have been intensified and searches done in several areas, taking in 45 houses along the Bartica/Potaro Road between One-Mile and Seven-Mile Bartica-Potaro Road.There have also been searches of the outlying areas, such as Teperu. Marine patrols by the Joint Services have also been intensified.The release added that the police at Bartica have been strengthened by a senior officer from the Anti-Crime Unit along with ranks from the Criminal Investigations Department and Criminal Intelligence.“We were able to identify three suspects, who have since gone into hiding,” said the police. The Joint Services conducted an operation in the Bartica Arcade aimed at apprehending known characters and also to unearth narcotics and illegal arms and ammunition.Twelve men were arrested and are being processed by the police. As recently as Thursday, an additional special team from the Anti-Crime Unit was dispatched to Bartica to assist in the safety of the community and the apprehension of persons who may be involved in the robberies, the police stated.