Joint Services corner elusive gang at Kwakwani

Jun 07, 2008 News

…kill one, seize machine guns, shotguns, ammunition

The Joint Services moved one step closer to bringing an end to the reign of a band of gunmen when they cornered a large gang in the vicinity of Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, yesterday.

According to reports from the mining community, the Joint Services ranks caught up with the gang in a wooded area near Kwakwani shortly before 16:00 hours yesterday and came under fire. The ranks immediately returned fire, killing one of the gang members and seizing a number of automatic weapons, shotguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The identity of the slain man has not been disclosed.

Word from Kwakwani was that using aircraft, the Joint Services got an excellent fix on the gang and by nightfall the ranks were in hot pursuit. A source said that the Joint Services had the fleeing gang members in sight and were chasing the people down.

Residents in the area said that they were alerted to the action by the presence of the Skyvan overhead and the large number of police and army ranks.

One resident said that at first he thought that it was a routine exercise but the manner in which the men were conducting the exercise caused him to change his opinion. He added that many people in the community were aware that a boat was being constructed and that an engine was about to have been bought for the vessel.

This plan has been shot down because the ranks have expanded their operation to include the river edge.

For more than a week, the people have been reporting the presence of strange men in the community, among them treason accused Philip Bynoe, one source said. Bynoe was charged with Mark Benschop for treason following what the authorities said was an attack on the Office of the President on July 3, 2002.

He was never apprehended while Benschop after a preliminary inquiry and a high court trial, languished in prison for five years.

The High Court trial ended in a hung jury and a retrial was ordered. That retrial never materialized because of a number of reasons, one of which was a challenge by lawyers who insisted that all trials be done in chronological order.

There were also reports that no judge wanted to try Benschop. Meanwhile, Bynoe continued to elude capture.

There is also the belief that some other wanted men may be among those trying to escape from the Joint Services in Kwakwani.