Joint Services still on high alert

Jun 22, 2011 News

12 days after NA prison escape…

Members of the Joint Services remain on high alert with the objective of recapturing four criminals who escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison almost two weeks ago.
However, senior Joint Services personnel have indicated that they are nowhere near finding the escaped prisoners now than when the search commenced on the morning of June 11 when the men were discovered missing.

Rickford La Fleur

They said, though, that they have been following all leads and information received about the men, including possible sightings.
“People have been calling in saying that they had seen the men, but when we turn up at the locations given, the men are not there,” said one official. He could not say if the leads were genuine or not.
“It is not too clear if the men were at the locations given or not, but we have been responding,” the official added.
Neither could he confirm if the men have left the jurisdiction, as is widely believed by most, given the ease with which a person can flee to neighbouring Suriname.
Local police had alerted their Surinamese counterparts immediately after the escape, but so far Suriname authorities have not reported any sightings of the men.
Apart from newspaper advertisements with the men’s photographs, there have been several roadblocks and raids mounted by the joint services, all aimed at recapturing the escapees.
The manhunt also included the use of the Guyana Defence Force helicopter, in the combing of several riverain areas, including the Berbice and Canje Rivers, along with the relatively remote community of Black Bush Polder.
The security forces had issued a stern warning to relatives and associates of the escapees not to harbour them or provide them with any assistance and to report any sighting of them to the authorities.
Police had been visiting the homes of relatives and places where the escapees are known to frequent.

Kevin Narine

Some of the relatives had been briefly detained for questioning.
Harbouring a fugitive is a criminal offence and several persons have been charged for their association with fugitive criminal elements.
On Friday, June 10, four prisoners, including a murder convict, escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison.
The discovery of the breakout was made about 06:45hrs the following day, when guards checked the premises.
The men who were both convicted and remand prisoners, broke out from their cells at about 02:30 hrs on Saturday. They then somehow got hold of a sling (Cement sling) and used that to scale down their holdings before ripping a hole in the fence and making good their escape.
The escapees are Kevin “Long Hair” Narine, Rickford La Fleur, Vinood Gopaul and Vijay Seenarine.
At the time of their escape, Narine was serving a nine-year sentence for armed robbery at sea, while La Fleur was earlier this month charged with the murder of fellow inmate, Sebastian Cleto.
Meanwhile, the Board of Inquiry that was established to look into the circumstances of the escape is continuing its work.
A senior prison official yesterday told this newspaper that the board will be paying attention to all areas, including rumours that there might have been some financial dealings that facilitated the escape.