THE top brass of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other top-ranking members of the Disciplined Forces yesterday witnessed the culmination of a two-day exercise in which “Operation Dragnet” was successful at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.Operation coordinator David Ramnarine told the media that as they were in the period of “Operation Dragnet,” when there was a heightened sense of security it was the focus and the operational efficiency of various units in the Joint Services that would be on display.

He said that they were in the second day of the third phase of exercise “Assurance” and yesterday (Wednesday) they had two scenarios which were developed and executed.
Ramnarine explained that the first had to do with barricading the suspects. In that scenario, there was a robbery in the Timehri area where the suspects made their way into this general area and that the response from ‘A’ Division Anti-Crime Patrol could not deal with the situation.
The senior officer stated that they came under fire and withdrew, then they took up tactical positions, based on discussions and intelligence and an assessment was made and SWAT was deployed and dealt with that situation effectively.
Ramnarine pointed out that while two teams from SWAT were dealing with the barricaded suspects, another piece of information was received from a confidential informant to say that the suspect who was wanted in series of robberies and the murder of a businessman was seen entering a house about half a mile from this area which led into the second scenario.

He explained that the third team from SWAT had to be deployed simultaneously to effect the arrest of that high-profile suspect. This was eventually done and that completed the activity on Wednesday.

Ramnarine disclosed that SWAT, a highly trained unit with a tactical mode with a lot of skills remained overnight into Thursday (yesterday) when they arrived at the third scenario.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police said the third scenario in this exercise had to do with the fact that John Jones, who is the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of an oil company, and others, came to Guyana on January 12, 2016 to engage our government in a proposal for oil exploration and were all staying at the Marriott Hotel. At about 08:00 hrs they were all abducted.
Ramnarine told the media that a meeting was convened with the top officers, including the Commissioner of Police, also with Crime Intelligence, the Anti-Kidnapping Team and the Special Branch of Police, deployed to enhance security at the Marriott Hotel.
He noted that at that point the Minister of Public Security was briefed and the Joint Operation Centre was established based on discussions between the Top Cop and the Chief of Staff.
STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES
“You would understand that based on the high-profile nature of the individual who was abducted, these actions are very necessary and in keeping with standard operating procedures,” Ramnarine said.
The senior officer added that at 10:15 hrs, a call was received by Harry Lowe, the operations manager of the oil company with a demand that the sum of US$20M be paid for the release of the CEO. The person indicated that he would call back in the next two hours to give further instructions.
“Upon receipt of this information, we knew we were dealing with a kidnapping and therefore, the Anti-Kidnapping Team was dispatched under the command of an officer.
Ramnarine stated that the team went to the Marriott Hotel and engaged the Operations Manager at 12:10 hrs a second call was made to the same operations manager, that time from a cellphone belonging to the missing CEO.

He said that during this conversation, the operations manager and based on the role of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, he spoke with the caller and established that the CEO was alive. The call that was made was eventually traced using normal technology and other apparatus to the general Timehri area.
Ramnarine stated that after the CEO was contacted, the Operations Manager pleaded with him for more time to accumulate the money, but the caller said he would call back and he abruptly disconnected the call.
The senior officer told the media that as they were awaiting that call and at that time the CEO had multiple medical complications and his condition was deteriorating.
A further trace done by the Crime Intelligence Unit narrowed down the location where the hostage was being held in Timehri, Ramnarine said.
He said the Crime Intelligence Unit provided a complete description of the location including a car fitting the description of one being used by the kidnappers, and photos taken by the Crime Intelligence Unit of armed men at the location when compared with surveillance footage that was obtained by the Marriott Hotel confirmed that two of the suspects and another car were seen in the yard.
The Assistant Commissioner said the Crime Chief was ,then the Top Cop was briefed after which the relevant authorities were also briefed and a high-level meeting was called and ended in keeping with Standard Operating Procedures. SWAT was deployed as instructed by the Commissioner.
Ramnarine added that SWAT was deployed and the operation was successful; the CEO was rescued and the suspects who were not shot were arrested and those injured taken away from the scene for medical attention.

The operation lasted just over two hours and it was observed to have been well executed, much to the delight of the hierarchy of the GPF. (mOutridge@guyanachronicle.com)

By Michel Outridge