Bartica gold dealers bound, throats slit

Sep 06, 2010 News

…millions in raw gold and cash vanish

Two large scale gold dealers were yesterday found in a house at Second Avenue Bartica with their throats slit and both their firearms missing.
The two men have been identified as 50 year-old Ramdeo Deonarine called Prakash of Ruby, East Bank Essequibo and Jainarine Ragoobar called ‘Jai’ of Fairfield, Essequibo Coast.

Ramdeo Deonarine called Prakash

Jainarine Ragoobar

According to reports, sometime between 10:45 and 11:15 hours yesterday an alarm was raised by an associate of ‘Prakash’ who went to check on him after calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.
This newspaper was told that after the female found the entire premises opened, and was getting no response after calling for some time, she entered the house, which is owned by Bartica Businessman, Ricky Ramnarine of CB&R Mining.
This newspaper understands that both men would stay at the premises whenever they were in Bartica to conduct business.
Upon entering the building, this publication was told the woman stumbled upon the bloodied bodies of the two businessmen.
According to persons who saw the men, both their heads were wrapped with sheets, their mouths duct taped, their throats slit and their hands and feet tied up.
In addition, sources close to the investigation have since revealed that the there was no sign of forced entry to the building and it was not ransacked.
However, a large quantity of raw gold and cash were missing from both men.
There are also reports that suggest that the surveillance camera software was removed from the premises.
Meanwhile, close business associates of the men expressed shocked at the incident stating that both men were last seen alive sometime after midnight on Saturday.

Ricky Ramnarine

According to reports out of Bartica, both men were seen consuming alcohol with the owner of the house earlier on Saturday night.
When this newspaper visited the home of Deonarine, only some distant relatives were present, since one of his three daughters had already gone to Bartica to see what little information she could pick up.
The man’s relatives told this newspaper that they were preparing for a trip to the creek when they got the message about his death.
According to his relatives, Deonarine left his105 Ruby Public Road home on Friday as per normal, to buy gold in Bartica.
One of the man’s daughters, Mala, said when she arrived in Bartica she was not allowed to see her father’s remains which were still in the house up to 18:00 hours yesterday.

The house in which the men were found dead

The woman said that after spending close to five hours, standing outside of the house, she was told that the Bartica Police were awaiting detective ranks from Georgetown before the bodies are removed. According to the woman, she is baffled over her father’s death as he was a hard working honest businessman.
Deonarine now leaves to mourn his wife who resides in the United States and his three daughters.
Meanwhile, over at Fairfield on the Essequibo Coast, Ragoobar’s family was equally shocked.
According to the dead man’s mother, Nandraine a\k Padmattie, she last saw her son on Thursday last after he paid her a visit. She said that her son who is known to many as Jai was a very jovial and hard working person and had his family’s interest at heart.

Relatives react at the scene

The elderly woman, who had to be consoled by other relatives who had gathered at the house, said it was only on Friday he left for Bartica in the company of another businessman. She recalled that her son spent most of his time in Bartica after getting involved in mining. Ragoobar, prior to getting involved in mining worked as both a supervisor and a manager for the Shell Gas Station at Vilvoorden and Bartica. Jainarine leaves to mourn his wife, Mahadai and their five children.