Men in AK-47 probe released on bail

Apr 15, 2020 News

Several men, including a prominent gold miner, have reportedly been released on station bail, following questions over at least two AK-47 weapons seen in a viral video.

The armed men that were in the camp

The incident happened last week at an area in Region 10. At least two AK-47 – high powered assault weapons- were seen in the hands of men who were heard issuing threats to a number of mining workers.
According to officials close to the case, the police from Mackenzie Police Station did not find any of the weapons when visiting the mining camp area, off the Unamco road, Upper Berbice River area.
The men, including gold exporter, Rylon Adolphus, reportedly all denied knowledge of the weapons.
Under regulations, AK-47s are not issued to miners or security companies.
Law enforcement officials started looking at whether the AK-47s could have belonged to one of the state’s security entities, including the police.
It was confirmed on Monday that Adolphus and at least two ex-cops were arrested in connection with the invasion.
Kaieteur News had reported that the video was posted online showing an apparent invasion, in which an employee was assaulted.
Commander of the Region 10 division, Superintendent Hugh Winter, on Monday confirmed that a number of men were in custody.
It was later disclosed that the guns seen in the video were not recovered by police.
During the invasion at the Iron Mountain camp, an area off the Unamco road near the Demerara Timbers concession, there were shots fired in what workers said was a clear attempt to bully them to remove from the area.
According to a camp manager, the operation was a prospecting one with about 17 workers. The camp was being managed by a businessman known as ‘Sunna’.
It was explained that the mining block was controlled by a man named ‘Benson’ who acquired it through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
Permission was apparently granted to ‘Sunna’ and another man called ‘Adolphus’ and ‘Isaacs’ to work in separate areas. “These guys say they own the land. They don’t care about Mr. Benson,” one of the workers explained.
Then, on Saturday, heavily-armed men came with someone and attempted to remove ‘Sunna’ and his prospecting operations.
About 4pm, workers in the camp heard rapid gunfire and on racing out towards the sound, they were told by another worker that gunmen were coming.
In minutes, a group of six men, heavily-armed with AR rifles and other big guns, were in the camp. The men are said to be miners.
According to a worker, the men had taken away an AR rifle from their security guard and had it.
In 2016, Adolphus’ name surfaced after it was disclosed that the Guyana Gold Board had issued its approval of an export licence for Adolphus Mining Inc.
There were questions then about the due diligence conducted.
One of the two directors of Adolphus Mining is Travis Chase, a television reporter.
There are only about eight or nine gold exporters in Guyana.