More suspects in the attack on Guyana Sandport Inc have been released and Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said yesterday that the Director of Public Prosecu-tions has directed police to conduct further investigations.
Persaud noted that the co-owner, Rodrigo De Paula, who was among those arrested on the Coverden, East Bank Demerara site, was released on Thursday evening. Asked if the other alleged perpetrators have been released as well, he responded, “The rest are police.”
De Paula and four other civilians were released on Thursday. Stabroek News has been informed that the presidential guards, numbering at least eight, are still under close arrest.
Lawyers for De Paula, a Brazilian, had moved to the High Court earlier Thursday asking that he be released from custody. Chief Justice Ian Chang, who heard the matter, ordered the police release the Brazilian by 5 pm with or without bail. He was released almost two hours after than time on $50,000 station bail.
About 30 men, including presidential guards armed with their guns, stormed the property around 2 am on Tuesday. They were equipped with welding sets and acetylene torches, which were to be used to destroy the conveyor system that is used to load and offload sand and stone into boats.
As they were heading to the location, a truck carrying the equipment got stuck in the sand and as a result they were unable to carry all their equipment onto the property.
Members of the group assaulted two guards on duty at the time, but one managed to escape and alert police and Bhaskaran.
The police and the businessman later travelled to the property, where several presidential guards were manning the gates. From the gates they could see the light coming from the welding torches and persons were seen running inside the compound. The perpetrators were dressed in dark clothing and some had stockings covering their faces, including the co-owner.
A dispute over the business is believed to be the motive behind the attack.
