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Chief Justice gives police more time to hold West Demerara gang

Sep 19, 2013 News

 

– seven could face murder charge

Police are mopping up their initial investigations which could see no less than seven persons charged with murder, and even more with robbery under arms, stemming from the attacks at Meten-Meer-Zorg and Wakenaam.
Nine persons remain in custody after police cracked a criminal gang that had created fear in the hearts of West Coast Demerara residents.
One of the gang members, Kirk Bacchus, was shot dead last Monday during a shootout with lawmen, while a wanted bulletin was issued for his accomplice Keifa Small called ‘Frog Eye’ who managed to escape during the confrontation.
Reliable sources have informed that those in custody could be placed before the courts by tomorrow. Kaieteur News understands that the police were able to obtain permission from the court to keep the men in custody without charge beyond the stipulated 72 hours.
This was after attorneys for the men began making moves to file habeas corpus on behalf of their clients in custody.
“We knew we had some additional work to do. We don’t want to rush things,” a source close to the investigations told this newspaper.
A press release from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions late yesterday evening stated that the DPP had met with police investigators who requested additional time to complete their investigations.
The DPP then applied to the Chief Justice who granted the extension of time.
Some of those in custody have already reportedly confessed to being part of the gang that raided the Meten-Meer-Zorg home of Zulfikar Namdar, fatally wounding him a little over a week ago.
Through ballistics tests, investigators were also able to link the gang to the robbery committed on a Wakenaam businessman two weeks ago.
There are reports that some of the suspects in custody have confessed that they were indeed at the Meten-Meer-Zorg robbery scene but they pinned the murder on their now dead accomplice, Kirk Bacchus.
“They only had to place themselves at the scene of the crime and they could face murder charge,” a police source at the criminal investigations department headquarters told Kaieteur News.
Police believe that some of the gang members are remnants of some East Coast Demerara gangs that have access to the remaining AK-47 assault rifles that were stolen from the Guyana Defence Force way back in 2004.
So far, although they have rounded up the majority of gang members, police have been unable to recover any of the high powered weapons that were reportedly used in the commission of the crimes in question.
Police had said that they recovered spent shells that were fired from a high-power rifle at the scene of the Meten-Meer-Zorg attack, and residents had spoken of seeing a gunman fleeing with a big gun during Monday’s shootout.
It is strongly believed that the escaped gang member, Small, fled with the gang’s high-power weapon.
Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the gang members hail from several parts of East and West Coast Demerara, Middle Road, La Penitence and  West Bank Demerara.
Police believe that the mastermind of the gang’s operations is a boat owner whose vessel was said to be used to transport the bandits to some of their targets as well as to aid in their getaways. Two of those in custody are operators of his boat.
Police also found a gun and ammunition at his Zeelugt home.
Meanwhile, Sumdra Ali, the girlfriend of Esan Lawrence, one of the men in custody is claiming that he was beaten by the police to sign a confession statement.
Ali told this newspaper that Lawrence who she said is a clothes vendor was picked up by police around 05:00 hours on Tuesday.
“They pick he up and tell he that he rob people and kill people.”
Lawrence is no stranger to the law having spent four years in prison.
“They always holding he as a suspect whenever anything happen and loose he after 72 hours,” Ali said.
She said that she has secured the services of an attorney to ensure that Lawrence is treated fairly.

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