Many more Brazilian fugitives believed working in interior

Oct 02, 2017 News

– worrying influx of young Columbian women

There are many more Brazilians who are working in Guyana’s mining sector that are wanted in their homeland for murder and other serious crimes, a source with close links to the sector said yesterday.

Murdered Brazilian, Antonio Da Saliva

The source said that many of these individuals have used the wealth they have amassed in Guyana to acquire licenced firearms and other benefits that Guyanese have not been able to access through legal channels.
The source is not surprised at the revelation that one such Brazilian, the recently executed Siviomar Antônio de Oliveira, was a fugitive from justice and was living here under a false identity.
And the informant suggested that efforts by the present administration to screen foreigners seeking to work and acquire claims have come too late to stem the tide of dangerous individuals who have slipped under the radar.
“They (past and previous administrations) should done this a long time ago,” the informant said.
“Many of these people are married and have kids here. What would happen to the kids (if you send the parents back?”
The source who spoke to Kaieteur News has close links to some Brazilians who have reportedly confided that they have committed serious crimes and cannot risk returning home.
“One man confided that he had murdered another man over his wife. A lot of the women are also wanted in Brazil for crimes.”
The source indicated that under the guise of mining, some of these individuals are into the ‘business’ of drug trafficking. They also use their wealth to bribe their way out of trouble, according to the source, who pointed to two Brazilian women, who allegedly paid their way out of Trafficking In Persons (TIP) charges. Another woman, the source alleged, was released after being found with illegal firearms.
The source also expressed concern about what was said to be a large influx of “very young” Columbian women, who appear to be taking over the sex trade in the interior locations.
In the wake of the revelations about de Oliveira, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan had indicated on Saturday that foreigners seeking to work in the mining sector, will now face intense scrutiny into their backgrounds.
Ramjattan disclosed that an investigation by the police into the slain man’s background appears to confirm reports about de Oliveira. The executed man, also called “Lorão,” is said to have killed his first wife, and murdered some of his fellow inmates while in a Brazilian jail.
“He was believed to be Antonio Da Silva, and it’s now being realised that he is not the good character he seemed to be,” Ranjattan had told Kaieteur News.
“What is (now) known is that we have a criminal who murdered, and who was murdered, and we now have to get those who murdered him. We have a fair idea who the criminals are, and we will ask the Brazilian authorities to help,” Ramjattan said.
He expressed concern that other “bad characters” like de Oliveira, may be living under the radar in Guyana.
“We will have to be extra careful about these people now. I am very concerned about this revelation.
“We now have to do a major recheck of those persons, and have to maybe change how Brazilians are getting mining concessions, what checks are done before he got his gun licences.
“We have to check if there are bad characters here; we will have to get the Interpol arrangement (of background checks) and their fingerprints (checked). We will have to do these things and work along more with the Brazilian authorities.”
But he conceded that screening these individuals will be challenging, “especially when they change their names and put out new IDs.”
De Oliveira’s secret life unraveled last week after he was executed by a gang of gunmen who had tied him up and tortured him after invading his Akaiwanna, Cuyuni mining camp last Tuesday.
Kaieteur News understands that two of the attackers and the victim were once neighbours, when the businessman lived in Brazil.
The third suspect is a former employee of the dredge owner, and the fourth is reportedly an “assassin” from Suriname who was hired by his former neighbours. The identity of the fifth suspect is unclear.
De Oliveira was convicted of killing his ex-wife, Luzia Rodrigues Ramos, in the municipality of Caracaraí in 2004. He was also implicated in “executions inside the Monte Cristo Agricultural Penitentiary, when he was arrested by Operation Bastille in 2008. The authorities investigated the death of detainees within the prison system,” a report seen by Kaieteur News stated.
“He escaped in 2011 and had never been located by Roraima Police.”
In Guyana, where he had been reportedly living following his escape, “Lorão” acquired vast claims in the Cuyuni area, reportedly operating some 19 dredges.
He had some 120 Brazilians in his employ. He had recently purchased a parking lot in Alberttown, Georgetown.