Police on the Essequibo Coast were yesterday searching for four young men who escaped from the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) facility at Onderneeming on Monday evening.
Reports are that the four, who are said to be 16 and 15-year olds, escaped from the grounds of the facility some time on Monday.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud confirmed the incident when contacted yesterday, noting that the police were following leads in locating the young men. They were serving time after committing simple larceny offences, Stabroek News was told.
According to reports, supervisors at the institution were carrying out checks on Monday at the NOC, some time after 8 pm when it was discovered that the quartet were missing. Reports are that the young men were tasked with cleaning the compound of the NOC and may have slipped out of the institution during the daytime.
An alarm was subsequently raised and search efforts continued into yesterday to locate the teenagers.
Reports are that instances of inmates escaping from the NOC have been prevalent in recent times and while the authority implemented efforts to solve the situation, nothing much could be done by the limited security staff on duty.
This newspaper was told by sources on the Essequibo Coast that inadequate security at the location may have contributed to the situation.
