Top Cop assures security step up against piracy
ACTING Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell has said, in light of the recent piracy attacks, measures are being taken to step up security. He said the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is in active support in the fight and the government has promised to install floating bases in the Pomeroon and other areas.
Meanwhile, based on preliminary investigations, the suspects who were arrested and held for questioning in connection with Sunday’s incident, have been released from Charity Police Station, on the Essequibo Coast, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said.
He spoke to the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the Guyana Police Force Senior Officers Training Programme, at the Officer’s Mess Annex, Eve Leary, Georgetown.
Persaud said the police have reviewed a report which led to the decision to release the alleged perpetrators.
“The suspects were released after it was found that they were not involved in the matter,” he said, adding, however, that the police now have the correct description of the boat that was conducting the chase.
Persaud said the story which was previously reported contained several inconsistencies which will be corrected and aired publicly.
The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Ministry of Transport and Hydraulics will continue to pursue the matter, he assured.
On Sunday, quick response by the police at Charity, the Coast Guard and other agencies resulted in the apprehension of a vessel that reportedly attacked a fishing boat off the Pomeroon River.
Reports, that afternoon, said at approximately 09:30hrs, MARAD received information that a vessel was being pursued off the Pomeroon River and had run aground.
MARAD, immediately contacted the police, activated a team to search for the two boats and was successful.

ALERTED
The Police Divisional Commander for the area, the Army and Repsol – a company currently drilling for oil off the Berbice River, were alerted. Repsol, subsequently, provided a helicopter to assist in recovering the vessels, as was done in a previous piracy attack.
For this assistance, Transport and Hydraulics Minster Robenson Benn has expressed gratitude and satisfaction for the level of cooperation and the resulting success story.
He urged fisher folks to be vigilant and maintain contact with the relevant authorities whenever they feel threatened in any situation.
Benn assured that the Administration is prioritising their safety and working, assiduously, to put the necessary arrangements in place to protect them.
Meantime, Agriculture Minster Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who has been working closely with the various related entities on fisher folks’ safety, said they are intensifying efforts to implement new strategies to curb piracy, including a new global positioning system (GPS) to monitor licensed vessels that are at sea and may encounter difficulties.
“We are looking at something affordable, yet effective, to heighten the security against pirates,” he said about the initiative first talked of at the Fisher Folk Convention earlier this year.