The Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) crime experts were finally able to survey the Lindo Creek mining camp where the eight miners were slaughtered last month after a shuttle system was put in place on Wednesday by the joint services.
Though no information has been released on the three-man team’s activities while at the site, a senior police official yesterday confirmed that work was done by the team on Wednesday. The official however, would not state exactly what was done/collected by the team on that day. The team was to have gone to the area on Tuesday but was unable to because of several problems.
The Trinidadian team will complete this first phase of a three-tiered investigation into the gruesome killings which also includes pathology and forensics investigations, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon said at a press conference yesterday.
Dr. Luncheon explained that this team will be conducting the initial stages of the investigation which is, engaging in purely crime scene work. The team out of the Jamaican Constabulary Force, he added will be dealing with pathology and the Bajans, the forensics side.
Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad came to Guyana’s assistance after the United States opted not to sent a team here to assist with the bizarre incident stating that this decision was taken because of the length of time that has passed, the logistics involved and the unavailability of resources.
Dr. Luncheon told reporters that there was an arrangement that the team going to Lindo Creek would use the T&T’s helicopter but that did not happen. While revealing that there was a problem landing in the area among other technical issues on Tuesday, Dr. Luncheon said that a shuttle system was subsequently put in place to get the team to the site. They went on Wednesday and returned yesterday, he said.
While stating that he was unsure when the other teams will be arriving, he added that he believes that the work done by them will complement that of the Trinidadian experts.
Dr. Luncheon stated that the nature of Jamaica’s contribution in terms of the size of their team and the specifics of their engagement are being finalized presently.
Asked about the possibility of polygraphing the joint services members who were part of the operation to capture Rondel `Fineman’ Rawlins and his gang and who might have been in the area at the time of the killings, he said that that was not necessary and was doubtful that the issue should be entertained.
Dr. Luncheon emphasized that polygraphing is not something that would be used against everyone. He pointed out that it was just done in the case of CANU and will be extended to related agencies.
According to him, the focus of the investigation right now is how the men died and who did it.
‘Fineman’
Asked about the hunt for Rawlins, Dr. Luncheon said that he is still being aggressively pursued.
Since the Christmas Falls confrontation between the joint services and a group of gunmen early last month, there has been no sighting of Rawlins, who was said to be among a group of six who escaped.
The Joint Services had said that a cordon was formed but it remains unclear how the men managed to break through it and end up at Goat Farm, about 90 miles away. During a confrontation there two of the gunmen – Julius Chung and Cecil Ramcharran were killed.
Since then little information has been released to the media about the hunt for the fugitive and the surviving members of his gang.
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee when asked at a press conference just over a week ago about the hunt for Rawlins had said that the trail has probably gotten a bit cold.
Reports reaching this newspaper are that there has been no further sighting of the men since the discovery of the burnt remains of eight miners three weeks ago by dredge owner Leonard Arokium.
Several senior joint services officials have since admitted that there are a number of outstanding questions to be answered. Stabroek News had been told that lawmen who visited the Lindo Creek campsite found evidence that at least one miner was tortured. This newspaper has been informed that one of the skulls found at the location had an impression suggesting that the person was beaten in the head.
The police have said that they have a suspect and a witness to the murders but up to now no charge has been brought.
The eight men who were murdered are Nigel Torres, Bonny Harry, Cecil Arokium, Lancelot Lee, Horace Drakes, Dax Arokium, Clifton Wong and Compton Speirs.
