Driver shot, passengers robbed
Heavily armed bandits struck on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway last night, shooting the driver and a female passenger of a mini-bus that was heading to Lethem and robbing the travellers of cash and jewellery before escaping.
During the course of the incident, driver Dhanram Singh called ‘Bedi’ was grazed by a bullet in the back while Brazilian national, Barbara Ferreira was shot in her wrist. Ferreira had run into the bushes as the incident unfolded and was not located until after 11 pm.
Singh remained on the scene and was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre over an hour after the incident.
The attack occurred around 8:30 pm and the bus was carrying nine passengers; five Brazilians, two Surinamese, and two Guyanese, who were all heading to Lethem. Singh told Stabroek News that he left the Church Street office of the P&A Bus Service, at around 8 pm.
He recounted that he had passed the police outpost on the highway and was in the vicinity of Camp Wesleyan when he observed as a car followed him. He said that he became suspicious and sped up but the car followed and “flashed” him. “It start flashing me to stop but I speed up because I realize I ain’t know nobody on the highway”, he stated.
The car, followed and when it was apparent that Singh was not going to stop, the bandits started firing shots. The bandits, who he said, numbered around seven or eight, were in two cars. They shot out the back tyres of the mini-bus forcing him to stop. The driver stated that a number of shots were fired and some hit the seat that he was in but miraculously missed him.
After the vehicle was halted, the passengers were taken out of the vehicle and made to lie in the bushes. One group of heavily armed gunmen ransacked their luggage and also guarded them while another group patrolled the area. Singh said that the bandits had handguns and shotguns.
The gunmen stripped the passengers of cash and jewellery before getting back into their cars and heading back in the direction of the city.
Earlier, after the bus had been stopped, Ferreira had run into the bushes. After the bandits left, the police were notified but Ferreira was not found and the immediate area was searched. At around 11 pm last night, the army arrived to assist in the search and shortly after, she was located. She had sustained a gunshot wound to her wrist.
Singh was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where doctors told him that he was lucky to be alive. His shoulder bone was said to have deflected the bullet. He was later referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he remained up to early this morning.
There were no reports of anyone being caught up to press time.
There have been similar attacks in and around that area. Just over a year ago on October 1, 2007, two MMC Security Force guards were killed and two injured after they were ambushed by eight gunmen, who also hijacked their vehicle, at Sheribana Bridge in the Essequibo. Rodwell Clarke, 41, of 154 ‘D’ Field South Turkeyen and Warren Hutson died in the attack.
Around noon the men were on the MMC Security Force vehicle, escorting cash to the city when they came under attack. Chief Executive Officer of MMC Carl Morgan told Stabroek News that the four men, all constables employed with the firm, had just uplifted canisters with cash from the company’s ferry location in the interior when the incident occurred.
According to Morgan, just as the men approached the Sheribana area, they were ambushed by eight heavily armed men dressed in allover black outfits.
On April 26, 2006 one person was injured and several others robbed at gunpoint after a bus with 41 persons en route to Lethem was attacked by six gunmen who appeared to be after a large sum of elections money which they thought would be on board. Sources had told Stabroek News that it appeared that the gunmen may have gotten wind of a plan to transport $2M by road with elections workers who were headed to the region. However, arrangements for the transport of the money were changed at the last moment.
