Dangerous pirate ‘Bolo’ captured in Suriname
The boat, allegedly used by ‘Sinbad’ to travel back to Guyana, is at the Whim Police Station under armed police guard
The boat, allegedly used by ‘Sinbad’ to travel back to Guyana, is at the Whim Police Station under armed police guard

– another main suspect believed to be hiding in Guyana
– Surinamese cops obtain confessions from several suspects in deadly April 27 attacks

POLICE in neighbouring Suriname on Saturday evening arrested another main suspect in the deadly piracy attacks on April 27 that claimed the lives of at least 15 Guyanese fishermen.

The man arrested has been identified as ‘Bolo’. He is suspected to be a key member of a notorious group of pirates that carried out the gruesome attacks on the five fishing vessels with a total of 20 fishermen.

The attack, suspected to be revenge, occurred after the death of one Somnauth Manohar who was gunned down on March 30, allegedly at the hands of other fishermen.

Well known Corentyne businessman, Nakool Manohar called ‘Fyah’, the brother of Somnauth, has since been arraigned for the murder of one of the fishermen and is the suspected mastermind behind the attacks, along with his nephew (son of Somnauth).

According to sources in Suriname, Bolo, who originally hails from Number 71 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne, was arrested at a place called Lelydorp, some 15 kilometers away from Suriname’s capital city, Paramaribo.

He was subsequently taken to the capital city under heavy security. Several other men, including ‘Sinbad’, ‘Dick’ and ‘Crackhead’ are suspected to have taken part in the attacks as they were identified by survivors of the massacre.

‘Crackhead’ was arrested by the Surinamese authorities several days after the incident and has reportedly confessed to killing five persons during the attack.

Since the attack, police in both Suriname and Guyana have been collaborating and tightening the noose around the suspects by sharing intelligence and bringing survivors to Guyana to help in capturing the remaining wanted men.

Well placed sources in the investigative team have confirmed that the alleged ring leader, ‘Sinbad’, is believed to be hiding out in Guyana.

According to a source, ‘Sinbad’ is believed to have travelled back to Guyana on the ‘Cristina-1 SK-1221’ shortly after the attack on the fishermen.

The boat, which is owned by Ron Drepaul, was reportedly identified as the one used in the attack by the pirates. The identification was done in Guyana by one of the survivors who travelled here from neighbouring Suriname.

Guyana Chronicle had first reported the boat was being guarded by ranks of the Major Crimes Unit.

The boat was originally docked at the Number 43 fishing port until it was eventually taken to the Whim Police Station on May 23 where it remains under armed police guard.

Guyana Chronicle understands that ‘Sinbad’ and the other men allegedly took Gowkarran Outar called ‘Gavin’ as a hostage when they boarded the Cristina-1 on their journey back to Guyana.

As they neared their destination, they allegedly killed Outar and threw his body overboard. The body of the fisherman was discovered at Number 63 Beach on May 10.

Police reports state that the owner of the boat, Ron Drepaul, works with ‘Fyah’, a claim both Drepaul’s and ‘Fyah’s relatives have denied.

Drepaul was arrested and remained in custody for several days before he was eventually released on $1M bail.

In neighbouring Suriname, several suspects are still in police custody, including the son of Somnauth Manohar and at least one boat owner.

Fisherfolks who spoke on anonymity with this publication in Suriname say that the family of Somnauth had pledged revenge on the day of his funeral.

There have since been alleged death threats and violence in a bid to silence the survivors and those who have knowledge of the crime.

Meanwhile, a policeman in Suriname was killed and it has been alleged that the cop’s father was part of the group that killed Manohar. A son of one of the survivors was stabbed in Enmore, while the home of another fisherman was burnt to the ground.

Almost after a month in custody, several of the suspects have allegedly now confessed to their involvement in the crime to the Surinamese authorities as well as in identifying others involved.

This was confirmed by Surinamese Police Inspector Erwin Cort, acting head of Capital Crimes, at a press conference to the Surinamese media on May 31.

A few days after the April 27 attacks, another attack was carried out by the same gang that executed the first one on a party of fisherman, taking the total to 25 persons who were attacked.

Nine of the fishermen have survived the attacks; four bodies have been recovered while 12 remain missing and are presumed dead. One of the five boats is still missing and is believed to have been taken away by the pirates.

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