GGDMA, Venezuelan Embassy to investigate
A group of Guyanese miners were on Wednesday robbed at gunpoint of a quantity of gold as they left their camp to purchase groceries for stockpiling. The men who have been operating at the Five Star backdam in the North West District for some time claimed they were robbed by gunmen who are Venezuelans.According to the information reaching this publication, the men were robbed of their gold just after noon on Wednesday.
The matter was reported to the police and statements were taken in relation to the matter. The men told the police they were robbed while heading to secure groceries for their mining camp.
The gunmen reportedly crossed the border entering Guyana illegally to carry out their criminal act before re-entering their country.
One miner explained that the gunmen carried high powered weapons and promised to use the weapons on the Guyanese miners if they refused to hand over what was requested, that is, their gold.
The threat caused the Guyanese miners to hand over their gold to the gunmen who seemed very determined to use their weapons and get gold from the men by force if they refused. One of the victims related that he laboured for almost two months to acquire the gold of which he was robbed.
The gunmen reportedly tore their way through the baggage of the Guyanese miners looking for the gold, while others trained their weapons on the victims. This is after the miners would have already been stripped of whatever gold they had on their person.
The men also made off with a bag which contained gold that represented two months of production. It is not clear how much the gold weighed and what was its market value. The harassment of the Guyanese miners were under the guard and command of the gunmen for approximately two hours before their cell phones and other communication devices were confiscated and were allowed to travel.
The latest development has seen calls by the miners for the Guyana Defence Force to offer proper protection and policing of the borders in that part of the country, which is usually an entry point for criminals who cross the border and commit illegal acts and retreat to their homeland.
Contacted on Friday, Head of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Patrick Harding said that his agency received no such reports but promised to have the information checked and investigated.
This publication also contacted the Venezuelan Embassy here in Guyana where the secretary to the Venezuelan Ambassador said that neither she nor the embassy was aware of the claims by the Guyanese miners.
The embassy personnel who identified herself stated that the only time she heard of the incident was through the call by this publication and an earlier report she saw on an internet news site. She promised to have the information checked and related that the embassy would open an investigation into the matter once it is found that it did occur.
Efforts to contact Brigadier Mark Phillips for a comment on the matter were unsuccessful.
By Leroy Smith and Rajendra Prabhulall