POLICE are looking high and low for clues that would help them to determine how a bag containing about two million dollars vanished from a Canter truck while the driver and porter were being questioned by them during a stop and search operation yesterday.

The incident reportedly took place in front of the Sparendaam Police Station on the East Coast of Demerara while traffic ranks were doing routine checks.
However, the Guyana Chronicle was informed that although the incident occurred right in front of the Sparendaam Police Station, it was not reported at that police station by the occupants of the truck.
They drove approximately forty miles, passing two other police stations and one outpost, to report the matter at the Cove and John Police Station which houses the Headquarters of the Police ‘C’ Division. It is not clear if the men immediately after re-entering the vehicle discovered the money missing or while on their way further up the East Coast.
The porter of the truck reportedly told investigators that while the driver of the Canter was being questioned by the police about the papers for the truck, two men approached him as he remained seated in the vehicle and told him that the police also needed him so he exited the vehicle and went to the police.
The man said that the two men who approached him were wearing shirt jacs and identified themselves as police officers.
Speaking with this newspaper, one senior police source said that at the time the operation was being conducted in front of the Sparendaam Police Station, when the men claimed that the money went missing, there were no ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department who were attached to that police station present. CID ranks are often seen wearing shirt jacs.
All the CID ranks according to the source were present at a meeting with the new divisional detective who was sent to take up duties in the division yesterday. In addition the description given by the porter to the police does not match that of any other rank working at the Sparendaam Police Station.
In the meantime, the matter is under intense investigation by the divisional detectives.

(By Leroy Smith)