POLICE sources say that the two men shot dead in the foiled robbery along the Berbice River and three others in custody, may have been part of a ring responsible for a series of robberies along the Berbice River and Canje Creek.

On Friday last, police responded to a distress call from a businessman whose ranch located at Pottoco Creek was under siege by six armed men who stole a quantity of cattle and other items and escaped.

The police in responding promptly to the scene apprehended two of the suspects and acting on information provided by the two captured men, they utilised the businessman’s boat to go after the other suspects.

The lawmen managed to intercept the suspects further up the Canje Creek. Before they were intercepted, the suspects opened fire on the policemen who returned fire, killing the two suspects who fired at them.

The dead men were identified as Inderjeet “Danny” Sham, 37, a father of three of Betsy Ground, East Canje and Amar “Punk” Bissoon, 21, of Adelphi Settlement.

According to a relative of Sham, he was a cane harvester attached to the Rose Hall Estate. He recently received a transfer letter to work at the Albion Estate.

Bissoon was a former ‘A’ level student of the New Amsterdam Multilateral School and was described as a promising individual who followed bad company.

The police in a press release stated that during the operation, they were able to recover 23 sheep, 15 ducks, a solar panel, a radio, a quantity of rope, and other valuables belonging to the said businessman, as well as a camouflaged aluminum boat in which the items were found.

Additionally, a 12 gauge pump action shotgun, a .32 pistol, 11 live cartridges and five live.32 rounds were found in possession of the bandits. Also three spent cartridges and a .32 spent shell were retrieved at the scene.

Police sources have confirmed that the aluminum boat used in the robbery was stolen six weeks ago.
The Guyana Chronicle understands that the boat was in the Manrabisi Canal at Number 66 Village. The vessel belongs to a contractor from the Corentyne who would use it to transport fuel and other supplies to his workers in the area.

According to reports, on the same night the boat was stolen, another camp in proximity to where the boat was located was attacked by gunmen.
During that attack, the watchmen stationed at the cattle camp were tied-up while the camp was looted and several cattle and livestock were stolen.
The modus operandi of that attack was similar to the one on Friday, leading detectives to believe that the strings of cattle rustling along the Corentyne were committed by the said gang.

Meanwhile, police have confirmed that the investigations have led to the capture of a third suspect that may be critical to the operation.

Commander of ‘B’ Division Lyndon Alves, told the Guyana Chronicle that the files are currently being prepared to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice.

Cattle farmers have been complaining of huge losses due to cattle rustling but have been unable to positively identify the perpetrators of these acts.