THE office of Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland was burglarised and vandalised for the third time since he took office in March, the latest episode being last Tuesday evening.The Mayor was at the time in China on official business, but he was notified of the incident by Deputy Mayor Waneka Arrindell, who informed the police about what occurred on Wednesday morning. Arrindell on Monday told media operatives that the police responded promptly to the scene, and investigations are ongoing into the matter. She is positive that police will find the perpetrators.

Though nothing seems to be missing, the entire office was ransacked and vandalised. The perpetrators reportedly stuck a thumb tack through the forehead of the Mayor’s photograph and stuck it to the wall. Deputy Mayor Arrindell said this is not only an attack on the Mayor, but on the entire Council, and security officers need to be questioned to determine how these breakages occurred three times within months.

“Our security needs to be more vigilant in their work, so that this Council can be secured…. The security needs to be questioned, and we really need to get to the bottom of how this happened for the third time,” Arrindell said.

She said that though the police could not determine from where the bandits had entered the building, the exterior window of the office is most likely the place they had used.

Mayor Holland has said he does not regard the break-ins as a personal threat, but believes that security needs to be beefed up. He said the perpetrators are trying to intimidate him, and by extension the Council, but their efforts are unsuccessful. “I think it’s to drive fear in the Council, (and prevent us) from doing our job,” he stressed.

The Mayor is of the opinion that the perpetrator was looking for files and documents concerning the Council.

Inspector Chabinaught Singh of the Mackenzie Police Station told the Guyana Chronicle that there have been no leads, but the investigation is active.