Pirates struck again on Saturday afternoon robbing five fishermen of their engines and other items on the Corentyne Coast and then leaving them to drift to shore yesterday morning.
According to the police, on Saturday afternoon Motilall Singh, a fisherman from Success, East Coast Demerara, and a crew of five men went out to fish. The men were just about four miles off the Albion foreshore at 2:30 pm when a blue and red boat sped up and four armed men stuck them up. The men who carried three long guns and a cutlass assaulted the fishermen before relieving them of two 48 HP Yamaha engines, 14 cartons of cigarettes, groceries and clothing. They then sped away leaving the fishermen to drift on the water. It was only yesterday at 3:30 am that they were able to make it back to shore and make a report at the Whim police station. The police are continuing investigations.
There has been a rise in hijackings on the river in recent days. On Thursday eighteen fishermen, one from the Corentyne, and the others from the East Coast Demerara were terrorized and robbed in four separate boats by pirates near the Corentyne River. The first robbery is said to have taken place just off the shore at Number 43 Village and owner/captain of the boat, William Busgith, 51, recounted the horror to this newspaper. He was robbed of his 40-ft boat valued at $600,000, one 40 HP Yamaha engine worth $750,000, a 250-pound nylon seine valued $250,000, a quantity of gasoline, foodstuff, a stove and three wristwatches. Fishermen from three other boats were also robbed of the same items and the bandits also carted off clothing and cell phones from the East Coast fishers. Busgith said he and two workers were heading out to sea around 8:30 am when four masked gunmen abandoned their boat and jumped into his boat and fired several shots in the air. He recalled that he and the two workers ran into the cabin in an attempt to hide but the bandits followed them and beat them with a hammer they found in his boat. They then tied their hands and feet and also wrapped their heads in three canvas bags. They continued their attack on other fishermen using Busgith’s boat. He said the bandits robbed two other boats in the vicinity of Bush Lot and Albion and ordered the occupants into his craft. They then proceeded to the mouth of the Berbice River where the last boat, belonging to fishermen from the East Coast, was robbed around 7 pm. The pirates dumped all of the fishermen into the East Coast boat, untied them and escaped in Busgith’s boat. A few hours after, the boat they were in drifted close to the shore and though they did not know the area well, 10 of the fishermen decided to wade out of the water in search of help. They returned in another boat about 6:30 in the morning for Busgith and the seven others who were left behind.
Busgith told Stabroek News yesterday that many of the fishermen have decided to launch their own search for the engines since after reporting the matter none of the perpetrators has been caught or any of their engines recovered by the police.
Fishermen have argued in the past that the GDF coast guard which has received a number of craft over the years should be doing more frequent patrols particularly during periods when the pirates increase their activity. The problem was also recently discussed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. (Keisha McCammon)
