…says Police Commissioner Greene
Robberies being committed on mining camps by armed gangs — like the five suspects who were captured in Aranka– are believed to be linked to the rising price of gold, while there are several other gangs operating on the coast, according to Police Commissioner Henry Greene.

“The biggest challenge is the price of gold; this is very high and I think that is really what is causing people to move into the interior… and, some criminal elements end up there,” Greene told reporters after the handing over ceremony of a boat from the Minister of Home Affairs Monday at the Police Marine Station, Ruimveldt.

He said in some instances people work with the mining camps, monitoring the bosses and awaiting a good opportunity to rob them.

Green pointed to the “roving” gang in Aranka, Region Seven- Cuyuni Mazaruni, that is allegedly responsible for three sets of robberies on Brazilians. The gang — one member from Victoria, three from Ann’s Grove and one from Meadow Brook- “went up to Aranka with the expressed purpose of robbing Brazilians.” Three of them have confessed to committing the crimes and they have implicated the remaining two, including a woman.

Greene said no arms or ammunition has been found in the possession of the suspects, leading investigators to believe that the robbers might have borrowed or rented weapons.
The Commissioner said that there have been several gangs operating on the Berbice – Demerara coast. One of these consists of three men who recently robbed a Laparkan branch at Rose Hall and later the SAJ Rice Mill at Burma.

Greene said gangs operating out of Georgetown have been responsible for the $1 million robbery – attack on the ‘greens’ vendor at Unity, Mahaica; the killing of a rice farmer in the vicinity of Unity; and the snatching of a bag containing $500,000.

‘Greens’ vendors are being targeted from Bourda Market and traced to East Coast and East Bank Demerara where they are attacked, said the Commissioner.

“They are looking for soft targets, we have a lot of patrols out there; I think the city is tight, but these guys are looking for people who are soft targets and soft targets are people like greens vendors who go home not believing anybody would follow them,” he said.

Yet another gang, Greene said, was operating out of Agricola, and might have been responsible for the seven-member attack on a business-place at Eccles. The guards were tied up and their shot-guns and ammunition taken away along with some other articles. Police have since detained several others, including Quincy Evans also known as “Jimmy Dog”, who was implicated in the Kaieteur News attack several years ago. They were due to be placed on an identification parade on Monday.

Police are also making efforts to arrest Tyrone “Cobra” Rowe, who they believe was linked to the robbery and shooting at Plaisance several weeks ago that left two people dead. A special constable who was allegedly linked to the Cobra-led gang has since been dismissed from the Police Force although no eyewitness had confirmed that he was seen handling a gun during the shoot-out.

Brushing aside suggestions that there has been a sudden spike in crime, the Police Commissioner acknowledged that there is a trend of an increase in robberies close to the date of major events, like Jam Zone.