Chairman of the Berbice Anti-Piracy Committee (BAPC) Pravinchandra Deodat is pleased that the immediate intervention of ‘B’ Division Commander Stephen Merai aided the capture of a pirates’ boat with loot on Sunday morning.
Deodat told Stabroek News that the boat was suspected to be used in a piracy attack around 8 pm on Saturday. And while three men managed to escape from the boat, two persons, including a woman are currently in police custody.
The boat that was robbed belonged to Tommy “Jango” Veerasammy, of the East Coast Demerara. At the time, he and his crew were fishing just off the shore at Number 43 Village, when the boat with four pirates pulled up alongside and fired a shot in the air. The pirates then beat the fishermen and ordered them to transfer a large quantity of fish and fish glue, a drum of gasoline, engine and other items into their boat.
Deodat said the commander felt he was not getting any “feedback” from the police at the Springlands station and instructed Crime Chief Marlon Chapman to visit the district yesterday to conduct a more detailed investigation. The boat had been taken to the Number 66 Complex on Sunday, while the engine and other items had been lodged at the station. The boat was being transported to the station on Tuesday morning when a man was observed looking at what was going on. As the police approached him he ran away but the police gave chase and captured him. In the case of the woman who is in custody, she visited the complex and claimed that the boat belonged to her and that it had been hijacked in Suriname. However, the members of the BAPC did not buy her story and cornered her. They then called the police and she was arrested. Reports are that “based on further intelligence,” the woman’s close relative has been involved in piracy for some time now.
Deodat recalled that around 10:00 hrs on Sunday he received a call from the chairman of the complex, Indar Persaud Rampersaud, about high seas piracy. He said that “without hesitation I got on to the Coastguard and he told me that he was in New Amsterdam.” He asked for assistance with patrolling and the Coastguard responded that he would have to get permission first. Deodat then asked him to send an officer as the BAPC has a boat and he agreed to do so in one hour. He said he and his team uplifted their weapon waited at the fisheries for the officer and after an hour they ended up heading to the location without him. In the vicinity of Adventure, they noticed that “a boat was grounded and three men in it were acting in a suspicious manner.”
They decided to approach the boat and the three men jumped out and tried to hide at the side.
He said his team was at a “reasonable distance” when the men ran away in the bushes. They also noticed items that were suspected to be stolen in the boat and called Merai for backup.
Within 25 minutes, he said 10 officers from the Whim Police Station arrived. The boat, engine and the items were removed and on Monday morning, Veerasammy confirmed that the items in the boat belonged to him.
Deodat remarked that while the commander had done a commendable job he hopes that the other police officers conduct theirs in a professional manner. On Monday, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud instructed the fisheries department to visit the complex and conduct an investigation. He said the ministry is also monitoring the situation.
