A PRAEDIAL larceny suspect was arrested yesterday by police in ‘D’ Division and a car impounded during investigations into reports about the disappearance of cows belonging to cattle farmers on the West Coast and West Bank Demerara over the past three years.Fayad Ali, 27 years, of Lot 7 ‘C’ Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road, West Bank Demerara was arrested while having his car, PTT 4969, a sliver grey Primo, cleaned at a wash bay, just as a Guyana Chronicle team was passing on the West Coast Demerara Public Road.
Upon enquiry, persons said the man and three others were spotted slaughtering a cow on a desolate street in Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.
Tularam Baloo, a cattle farmer from La Grange, told this publication at the carwash that over the past three years he had lost more than four dozen cows, which were stolen and slaughtered.
“For the last three to four years I losing cows steady, steady, every week I losing cows and we never catch the killer,” the cattle farmer related.
He said that on Sunday he went to check on his cattle where they usually graze on an old rice cultivation land that he is renting. However, a head count indicated that an animal was missing and during a search in nearby areas he found that his cow was being slaughtered. “Last night I go at the back there to watch me cows them and I see this sliver grey car with three men inside and I know them. They kill the cow and drive away from me because I did not have a weapon or anything to give chase after them, I had nothing,” the man stated.
He said when he showed up at the house where the owner of the car resides, he observed blood in the yard. He explained that he was able to locate the house since almost all the cattle farmers in the area are familiar with the car because of its artwork and the fact that it moves around the communities mostly at nights.
When the police nabbed the driver of the car, there was blood inside the trunk. And when this publication questioned the attendants of the wash bay, they acknowledged that the said car was often at the carwash to be cleaned and most times there was blood in the trunk but that didn’t arouse any suspicion because they were aware that the man was in the business of selling beef.
Another man, Zahir Azeez, also of La Grange said he lost approximately forty head of cattle over a period but like his fellow cattle farmers, he had no suspects in mind.
However, many reports were made to the police regarding the issue of praedial larceny but the police were unable until yesterday to nab any suspects. This publication was told that neighbours had observed the unusual practices of the men in the car as they were killing the cow and that information was passed on to the cattle owners.
According to reports, the men would degut the animals and split them in half before fitting the carcass in the car trunk. The Chronicle was taken to the area yesterday where the men had killed the cow on Sunday night. The intestines from a large animal were seen on the shoulder of the roadway along with a considerable amount of blood.
The same was said to have been done to a cow two days ago in Best Village.