-part of weapon found

Members of the Joint Services scouring the Upper Berbice jungle for Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and several other gunmen yesterday stumbled on part of a firearm abandoned by the gang, but there has been no further sighting of the men and the key concern is whether they could break out of the cordon.

A senior police officer last evening confirmed that the weapon part was discovered in the Christmas Falls, Upper Berbice River area, during an intensive search for the gunmen who security forces believe are still trapped in the bushes.

Since Saturday the Joint Services had been maintaining that they had covered a large area where the gunmen are currently ensconced, closing off all exit routes, and have deployed helicopters to conduct surveillance.

How-ever, so far there has been no success and observers believe that the gunmen might have skipped the security forces’ cordon. Contacted for an update on the operations yesterday, the senior officer said that there had been no new development, but he insisted that the gunmen – around six of them including Rawlins – were still trapped in the jungle.

Stabroek News was told that the gunmen had managed to escape on Friday with only two of their weapons and some of them were in their undergarments. The security official said that in such a state, with at least one or two of them hurt from gunshots it would be difficult for the gunmen to get away. “If we don’t get them the wildlife” will get them, the officer declared.

Rawlins and his men have demonstrated their ability to survive in the jungle. They had come close to being captured many times, but managed on every occasion to skip the police cordon and escape. Meanwhile, with regards Rawlins’ diary which was left abandoned during the raid on the Christmas Falls base, Stabroek News was told that investigators have begun examining its contents and efforts are being made to verify the users of some of the telephone numbers that showed up in the diary. Security experts here say that the diary could be a vital tool and might be able to put investigators in touch with persons with whom Rawlins communicated.

Responding to intelligence reports that Rawlins and his troops were hiding out at Christmas Falls some 300 miles up the Berbice River, members of the Joint Services descended on the forested area on Friday. Once there they came under fire from around seven men, one of whom – Otis ‘Mud-Up’ Fifee was shot and killed.

The other six men, including Rawlins however managed to escape leaving behind a cache of arms and ammunition, some of which has been confirmed by police as having been stolen from the Bartica Police station the night that community came under siege by gunmen. Weapons belonging to Bartica miner Chunilall Baboolall whose business place was attacked and robbed during that incident were also recovered.

A top Joint Services official told this newspaper on Sunday that they were certain that `Fineman’ and several of his senior lieutenants were among those who escaped.

In addition to recovering the weapons, the lawmen unearthed Rawlins’ diary, which they said provided evidence of the fugitive’s planning and executing of the slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica, taking vengeance for the death of his sister and a number of telephone numbers. The security forces had also discovered that the men were housed in a location with four buildings. They had foodstuff to last several weeks in a large kitchen, which also had a gas stove, generator and solar energy. In addition, there were six portable tents, four hammocks, three mattresses, a mini-stereo system, a DVD player, a cell phone, a hand-held radio set, items of clothing, medical supplies and a Bible, which were all abandoned as the gang fled.