Ex-policeman Ryan Gomes, who was held in a drug bust in Suriname earlier this month, has refused to cooperate with the authorities in the neighbouring country.
“He has refused to say anything or give a statement,” a senior investigator who has been in contact with his Surinamese counterparts told Stabroek News yesterday.
He said the man remains in police custody in the neighbouring country as police continue their investigations. The investigator, who has been in touch with the Surinamese authorities, said that two persons are still being sought by the police.
It was pointed out that the Surinamese justice system is different from that of Guyana’s and police there are allowed to keep persons in custody without charging them for extended period once there is probable cause.
In 2006 drug kingpin Roger Khan and three others – Paul Rodrigues, Sean Belfield and Lloyd Roberts – were all held in Suriname on suspicion of trafficking in drugs. While Khan was later taken to the US the three others–all former policemen–were held in Suriname for several weeks before they were later deported to Guyana.
Gomes was held several years ago in connection with an abandoned aircraft found at the Kwapau airstrip in Cuyuni-Mazaruni. Shortly after the find Gomes, who was a serving police constable at the time, was charged along with Romel Mc Kenzie with possession of ammunition without being the holder of a firearm licence. The two were placed on $100,000 bail each and the matter was transferred to the Bartica Police Station and it is not clear how it ended.
The ammunition was found locked in the seemingly abandoned Toyota Tacoma 4X4 at the interior landing. A subsequent search of its interior unearthed the ammunition under the vehicle’s passenger seat. Following investigations, bulletins were issued for the two men
De Ware Tijd had reported last week that units of the Suriname Police Force intercepted 28 kilos of cocaine, US$147,000, two handguns, two cars and a moped during raids on two separate locations.
The report said that three Surinamese and one Guyanese, who was described as an entrepreneur, were arrested. The report had also said police expected more arrests to follow.
