Terror hits Guyana’s capital

GEORGETOWN — Soldiers and cops of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force were yesterday engaged in a joint manhunt for armed bandits who went on a rampage of shooting and robbery in the capital Georgetown Tuesday, murdering a policeman and escaping with millions of dollars from a cambio.

In what police themselves have described as “a most brazen and terrifying display of gun terror” by criminals in the city, the heavily armed bandits pumped some 10 bullets into traffic cop Quincy James, injured three persons, hurled an explosive device at a filling station and robbed two city stores and a cambio of over Guy $2.5 million (G$189=US$1).

Some nine gunmen, armed with high-powered AK-47 and M70 rifles, were involved in the scene of terror that left James as the 13th policeman to have been murdered by criminals for the year, the largest ever number of cops killed in in one year while on duty line of duty in the history of the Guyana Police Force.

In addition to the murdered cops, some 20 business people were among an estimated 55 Guyanese shot to death since February this year when five criminals shot their way out of the Georgetown Prison. These escapees have been linked with other criminals in a rampage of murder, rape, robberies and hijackings since.

The eldest sister of the slain 18 year-old cop, Monette, who was on duty as a nurse at the Georgetown Hospital, remained traumatised yesterday as the security forces were combing the canefields at back of Buxton village on the East Coast of Georgetown into which the posse of armed bandits made their escape.

They escaped into the backlands on four motor cycles belonging to field supervisors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation after abandoning two hijacked cars, having earlier crashed two other hijacked cars used in the shooting spree during which the cop was shot to death, cambio robbed of local and foreign currencies and attacks made on at least three business enterprises, including the hurling of what was described as a “molotov cocktail” bomb at a gasolene station.

Trinidad bomber foiled in attack on oil refinery

PORT-OF-SPAIN — The Trinidad and Tobago police have confirmed a bombing attempt at Petrotrin’s oil refinery in Pointe-a-Pierre, shortly before the device was planned to explode.

The suspected saboteur was scared off by the vigilance of the oil company’s security employees who later discovered his arsenal of explosive devices including two bottles of rum with wicks and other materials intended to feed a fire.

According to local media reports yesterday, one patrolling security guard of Petrotrin spotted a lone figure moving swiftly around 3:45 am Tuesday and challenged him. But he made his escape in nearby bushes.

The police were summoned and found the evidence of the suspected bomber’s plot to cause what would have been a very costly explosion. There have been previous threats of sabotage against the oil company.

This foiled bombing plot coincides with investigations by local and foreign intelligence agencies into terrorist threats against American and British interests in Trinidad and Tobago.

The investigations also include a possible link by a local Muslim, Umar Abdullah, with overseas-based radical fundamentalists who claim to be defending “Islamic principles” against powerful Western nations and Israel.

Meanwhile, the Trinidad Guardian yesterday reported that National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee has told the recent Fifth Defence Ministerial of the Americas in Chile that Trinidad and Tobago “is an easy target for terrorists”.

According to Chin Lee, “our national assets are predominantly energy-based and our dependence on the oil and gas industry makes us easily targeted by acts of terrorism”.

He, however, assured that the government was quite vigilant and was ignoring “no threats of terrorism”, warning that the “vulnerabilities and incapabilities” of small island states require constant monitoring against criminals and subversive elements.