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The joint services raid

Apr 29, 2010 Editorial

THE joint services swept down on the Stabroek Market and when they were through, there were more than two dozen arrests and the recovery of some stolen items.
The manner of the raid caused some panic in the city, coming as it did just hours before some international cricket teams were about to showcase their talent at the National Stadium.
The raid also coincided with the arrival of a large cruise ship in Guyana bringing with it nearly 100 tourists. People wanted to know whether someone had robbed one of the tourists and had disappeared inside the Stabroek Market.
Suffice it to say that the presence of the police and soldiers in their numbers caught the attention of the people going about their business in the city.
Visitors witnessing soldiers with guns at the ready would have been shocked and perhaps scared. They might have been accustomed to seeing the police but certainly not in such numbers.
That the joint services found nothing of consequence is slightly worrying. Everyone knows that most of the stolen gold jewellery ends up in the hands of fences operating in and around Stabroek Market.
That area is also a haven for shady characters—the chain snatchers, the robbers and even some gunmen waiting to pounce on business places in the city.
It is unlikely that they would have been able to escape when the joint services arrived in their numbers. But the searching ranks failed to find any illegal weapon. They failed to find illegal drugs there although it is an open secret that addicts can get their drugs in the area.
One must therefore ask whether the action was intended to be show of force ahead of the International Cricket Council-sponsored T20 Cricket competition. One must also ask whether ahead of the raid, someone actually called the criminal elements and caused them to disperse.
Yet if the truth be told, such raids are needed in the city. Far too often people move around with illegal guns which they often use with deadly effect on the unsuspecting. The regular patrols from time to time do recover some weapons but their efforts are like a drop in a bucket. There are just too many illegal guns out there.
However, raids such as those conducted by the joint services do serve a valuable purpose. They keep the criminals off balance because they, the criminals, never know when the law would descend. There have been the arrests of wanted people simply because the police raided locations where they happened to be.
Not so long ago, the joint services dealt a severe blow to one of the largest criminal gangs operating in Guyana when they swooped down on a cattle pen in Buxton. There, six notorious gunmen, some of them in their mid-teens, were shot dead. The ranks had the element of surprise.
A few weeks ago, the joint services raided some areas known to accommodate criminals—East Ruimveldt, Campbellville, Festival City, South Ruimveldt.
They made some arrests and found two wanted men. However, more than anything else, the people found that the raids made them feel secure.
The only people who were discomfited were those who had something to hide.
One is certain that the marked decline in armed robberies is the result of the raids, sporadic though they are, by surprising even the most seasoned criminal. We are certain that some of them have moved themselves from the city to locations somewhat removed.
At this time when visitors are coming in their hundreds it would do well for there to be more of the raids, particularly in the wee hours of the morning. Who knows what they may cough up?
They have been finding strange things during raids, some of which the holders find difficult to explain. Just two days ago they raided a home at Annandale and found the spares stolen from some heavy duty machinery.
A criminal gang had been targeting them and the police raids exposed them.
They also exposed a frightening feature—policemen working in cahoots with the criminals.

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