Fishermen escape with pirates’ belongings after held hostage for 24 hours

Sep 16, 2020 News

A group of four fishermen on Monday last escaped with the belongings of pirates who had held them hostage for 24 hours in the Waini River Mouth, North West District (NWD), Region One.
The fishermen, according to police reports, had left Morawhanna on September 12th at around 22:00hrs to go fishing in the river mouth.

Fishing vessels in the Waini River (photo courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle)

The men told police that around 07:00hrs the following day (Sunday), they were awaken by the sounds of men on board their fishing vessel.
When they got up, they saw five men armed with guns and dressed in military-like uniforms. They claimed that the five men spoke a foreign language as well and reportedly forced them to the bow. The pirates, the fishermen said, then began loading their belongings from a small wooden boat they had tied onto the fishing vessel. They were held hostage for 24 hours.
On Monday, the fishermen said that pirates saw other vessels in the area and decided to go after them.
However, before doing so, the fishermen were relieved by one of the pirates of a cell phone and $16,000 in cash. They were instructed not to move.
A little while after, the pirates had left in pursuit of the other vessels.
One of the fishermen started the fishing vessel’s engine and sped out towards the ocean. They had escaped with the pirate’s belongings, on board.
At around 05:40hrs yesterday the fishermen docked at Kumaka Landing, Mabaruma and headed to the police station where they lodged a report at the Mabaruma Police Station, and handed over the pirates’ belongings.