‘C’ DIVISION police have arrested five persons in connection with the murder of 22-year-old cash crop farmer Shiraz Ally, whose battered body was found on his bed last week Monday at Good Hope Railway Line, East Coast Demerara.His mother, Bibi Shaleeza Hamid, had seen him two days before she had found him dead in his house. She said she had last seen Ameer on the Friday before he was discovered murdered, when he visited her at her home and never left until the following day.

The police were able to remove several items from that crime scene, including cigarette butts, two knives and a hammer, among other things.

Persons in the area also reported seeing the young man on Saturday afternoon, and even on Sunday before his remains were found.

Mrs Hamid disclosed that, as far as she had known, her son had had no issues with anyone. She also said she was at pains to figure out what may have caused him to be murdered.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed yesterday that the five persons were picked up after lunch yesterday, and he said the investigators are looking for another person.

Up to press time last evening, the men who were in police custody were said to be cooperating with the ranks and providing them with the information they need. None of these five persons in police custody were previously of interest to the police on any matter, but information reaching this publication has suggested that the sixth person has been of interest to the police in the past, and was held in connection with another matter.

The police were able to pick up the men based on intelligence they received, which began trickling in since last week, after the body of the man had been discovered.

When the police conducted searches on the persons of these five men yesterday and on the places where each had been found, they managed to recover two mobile phones which the deceased had owned and which were reportedly removed from his home during the time of his murder.

Additionally, the police have been able to recover two mobile SIM cards which were registered to the now dead cash crop farmer, who had lived alone and farmed as a means of providing for his daily needs.

It was also related to the police that the deceased had not been a smoker, and was not someone who would usually have friends over at his home.

The police will send samples for DNA testing, to ascertain which of the men who are now in custody was with the man when he reportedly met his demise. The samples are expected to be sent to Brazil for testing, as that country has, of recent, been testing samples for Guyana and returning same in record time.

It was observed that the mattress on which the deceased lay when he was discovered dead was soaked in so much blood that the effluent was beginning to make its way onto the floor and into the yard. There were also telltale signs that something or the other was burnt either in the yard or in the room where the man’s body was found.

According to unconfirmed reports, one of his neighbours had visited the young man on Sunday, but it is not clear if that person had been the last person to visit the home of the deceased.