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Gold miners under siege from Venezuelan gangsters
On Wednesday evening, at Baboon Backdam, Cuyuni River in Region Seven, a mining camp came under attack from heavily armed gunmen.
Masked, dirty and smelly, the eight men stayed five hours, using their high-powered rifles to control the 28 workers in the camp.
During the five hours, they demanded food, gold, money and guns.
One camp worker was badly beaten.
In the end, the men escaped with valuables, a shotgun and a large quantity of gold.
According to Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed, the gold dealer whose camp came under attack, from accounts of workers, the attackers were not from Guyana.
Gold dealer, Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed
This was evident from their language, the manner in which they were dressed and overall appearance.
It is believed that the men who attacked the camp are part of the feared Sindicato gang, which operates in the border areas close to Venezuela.
With that neighbouring Spanish-speaking country facing economic problems with food shortages and supplies low and unemployment and inflation at unsustainable levels, gangs have been fighting for and taking control of especially the border areas.
Becoming bolder, they have been attempting to muscle their way into the Cuyuni River, a main waterway for Guyanese miners to take their suppliers of fuel to camps.
The gangs have been demanding two ounces of gold, cash or equivalent on every boat that uses the river.
The issue of the Sindicato presence was raised a few weeks ago, with security officials indicating that they were investigating.
In fact, border patrols from the army at places like Eteringbang were boosted and more river patrols ordered.
However, it appeared that the gang members moved upriver and sometimes further downriver if their presence come under threat.
According to Mohamed, he is aware that at least five mining camps in the Cuyuni area came under attack in the last six weeks.
“We were told. A number of these people are afraid to talk. They are cutting their losses and continuing to work, but workers are staying away. We are finding it hard,” Mohamed told Kaieteur News.
According to Mohamed, miners, many of whom would sell their gold to him, are seeking more protection.
“These are the people’s livelihood. For some of them, it is all they know. The fact is that many of the people who are getting robbed are not talking. These camps are in remote areas. People are making a sacrifice and staying away from their families,” Mohamed said.
The businessman said that he will be reaching out to the Miners’ Associations to lobby on behalf of the miners.
“As you know, gold has been doing well for Guyana, becoming the highest foreign currency earner. We can ill-afford this,” he stated.
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