Sindicato gang hold 28 workers at bay in Cuyuni mining camp raid

May 19, 2018 News

– raw gold, shotgun carted off

Miners have expressed alarm and calling for more protection after a worrying raid on a mining camp Wednesday evening.
The incident took place at a place called Baboon Backdam, Cuyuni River in Region Seven.
It happened around 19:00hrs Wednesday.
While a police statement said at least four masked men were involved, sources close to the incident said that the gang included at least eight men who were armed with high powered rifles.
It is the belief that this gang is from the deadly Sindicato outfit that operates in the border area of Venezuela.
Kaieteur News was told that there have been several such robbery raids with miners fearful of speaking or even reporting when they have been robbed. This last target belongs to a prominent gold dealer.
The police said yesterday that the gang was armed with a rifle and shotguns. They were reportedly outfitted in dark-coloured clothing and were speaking in a foreign language.
Police confirmed that a quantity of raw gold and other valuables, including a licensed shotgun, were carted off by the gang.
“None of the 28 employees of the Mining Company was injured. The scene was visited by a team comprising ranks of the Joint Services. No arrest has been made at this time.”
Rumours of the Sindicato gangs operating in Guyana have been surfacing for some time.
Government officials have journeyed to the Venezuela border area, ordering more army patrols.
However, the miles of rivers are no easy task to manoeuvre.
Miners have been complaining of being robbed. With some camps being in remote areas, the reports filtering out may take days.
“Many miners especially in Cuyuni are fearful and want to chuck in,” a miner said last evening.
The Sindicato gangs control territories in the Venezuela border area, demanding payments from persons living there and tolls from persons traversing the Cuyuni River.
And in the city, the police said that ranks of the Narcotics Branch yesterday morning, acting on information received, went to the home of a Thomas Street, Kitty resident and conducted a search for narcotics in his presence.
During the process, the ranks found two transparent plastic parcels containing nearly five kilograms of cannabis.
The mason is in custody assisting with the investigation.
The police in West Bank Demerara area also went to a location at Vriesland Sea Dam, and found an unlicensed automatic pistol and 45 grams of cannabis inside of a camp. No arrest has yet been made.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News