Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
Ganga-smoking soldiers raid on mining camps…Victims stalling ID parade – Police
– Board of Inquiry report to be presented before week end
By Dale Andrews
The fate of some Guyana Defence Force ranks is hanging in the balance as investigators await the full cooperation of victims in last month’s illegal raid on a mining camp in the Cuyuni District.
Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best
While the Guyana Defence Force has indicated that it has sufficient evidence to charge the ranks under military law, police investigators are still waiting on eyewitnesses to come forward to facilitate an identification parade for possible criminal proceedings.
Almost six weeks ago, it was alleged that a group of soldiers raided the Julian Ross Landing, assaulting persons and relieving small-time drug dealers of their marijuana, which they consumed openly before raiding a mining camp several miles away.
This led to Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best establishing a Board of Inquiry to probe the circumstances surrounding the illegal operation.
That report is expected to be presented to him before the end of this week.
He had also visited the area where the alleged incident occurred and based on information received, an officer and four ranks were detained pending the outcome of a summary of evidence which will determine whether they will face a court martial on military charges.
The GDF in a press statement issued shortly after Commodore Best had visited the area, had stated that the miners and their support staff in the community have cooperated with GDF in its investigations “to the extent that some have identified the GDF officer and soldiers as having been at the Julian Ross Landing, where they allegedly conducted criminal acts.”
An army official told Kaieteur News yesterday that the GDF is making contact with all the witnesses and additional charges could be laid after the summary of evidence is completed.
But while the GDF is proceeding with its part of the matter, the police investigation has hit a snag with the apparent reluctance of the victims to facilitate the identification parade which is required to institute any criminal charges.
“The GDF could say that the ranks were identified but for police purposes, we need to conduct an identification parade,” a police source told Kaieteur News.
Commodore Gary Best had assured that the army will spare no effort to ensure that justice prevails once there is evidence that the acts were committed.
“Once we have evidence that the soldiers came here and went to the backdam and robbed the miners, I will ensure that they are charged and put before the court; and if they have to end up in prison, then they will end up in prison,” he had told a group of miners at the Julian Ross Landing. “A crime is a crime.”
Reiterating that the purpose of his visit was to ensure that justice was served, he declared to the group of Guyanese and Brazilian miners that if they did not act to identify the men and have them brought to justice, then it could lead to a continuance of such behavior and the thwarting of justice.
Best reassured the miners that coming forward to identify the alleged wrongdoers could not lead to any form of retribution since the alleged perpetrators would, if found culpable, no longer be posted to that area, since they would be locked away.
He indicated that bringing the soldiers to justice will send a signal to other ranks in the Guyana Defence Force that such behaviour has serious consequences and that there was no way it would be allowed to continue.
He had also issued a statement in the form of a paid advertisement that no member of the Guyana Defence Force has the authority to inspect any mining licences or inter-meddle into any mining activities once they are not accompanied by an official of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
“…members of the mining community must not submit themselves to any actions by Officers and soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force acting alone with respect to enforcement of laws governing mining in Guyana,” the Chief-of-Staff stated.
He made it clear that the Joint Services stand ready to work with the mining community to make their operational environment safe and peaceful.
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