-Brumell promises investigation
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud yesterday said that he has received reports of police ranks shaking down miners in the Cuyuni area and acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell has promised an investigation.
“I have spoken to the commander of that division [E&F], telling him to constantly send messages to ranks warning them not to shakedown miners; not to shakedown Brazilian miners; not to shakedown any miner, because they [the police] are there to serve and protect,” Brumell said last evening in response to the statements made by Persaud earlier in the day.
Persaud made the statement to reporters at the Office of the President (OP) during the release of the report on the collapsed mining pit at Aranka, Region Seven that claimed the lives of three miners earlier this month.
He said that the ministry has received reports that the police are shaking down miners, and had just concluded an operation in the Cuyuni area, where ranks and officers are being alleged to have been engaged in such activity.
“I have brought the issue to the attention of both the Ministry of Home Affairs and we have also written to the Commissioner of Police,” he said.
He added that the ministry has facilitated, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, the attendance of Crime Chief Seelall Persaud at the monthly meeting of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) to be held today. At this forum, the Minister said, Persaud can interact with miners on this and other security issues.
“It is an issue that we have been receiving [reports] about and we expect the Guyana Police Force would take them very seriously and would deal with them in any manner that is befitting,” he noted.
Over the years, there have been reports that ranks would target miners, especially Brazilians, some of whom are operating here illegally. However the issue was never publically addressed.
Despite the claims, no rank has ever been convicted of robbing a miner.
A few rogues
Contacted via telephone, Brumell said that he did receive correspondence on the issue from the minister a few weeks ago and noted that as with any claim, an investigation has to be done.
While making reference to the recent slaying of two Kato-based cops by so far unknown persons, he said, “I know that this is a tough time and because of what happened the pressure is going to be on but I want to let the public know that sometimes a few rogue ranks erase the good work of the rest and the best.” He said that in spite of this, the force will continue to “press on and hold up and do our work.”
There were reports that the two slain policemen, Constables Leadon Aaron and Marlon Letlow were brutally murdered after they allegedly committed a robbery. However, Persaud had said when contacted by this newspaper that this was one of several reports that investigators had received but there was no concrete evidence to back it up. He said that no one had come forward saying that the two policemen had robbed them.
Meanwhile contacted for an update yesterday, he said that the new investigating team that had been put together to return to the area remained in the city as several of them are playing a role in the ongoing Linden Commission of Inquiry (COI). He said that if all goes well, the team will be travelling into the area tomorrow.
He said that to date, investigators have been unable to establish why the ranks were killed and who committed the brutal acts.
The bodies of the two ranks were discovered last Wednesday in the Paramakatoi area, in the North Pakaraimas. Aaron was found strapped to a smoking tree trunk. His upper body was badly burnt. Letlow was found a short distance away with gunshot wounds to his body. Post-mortem examinations later revealed that both ranks were shot; Aaron once to the head and Letlow three times.
Based on the timeline given to this newspaper, the policemen were killed some time on Tuesday last, two days after they left their station on a routine patrol. Reports are they were seen some time during daylight hours on that day.
The police had said in a brief press release that investigations were being conducted into a report that on Sunday two police constables left the Kato Police Station on an ATV on patrol duties and had not been heard from since. According to the release, information had also been received that the ATV had been seen “apparently with the headlamps on” along a trail in mountainous terrain in the Paramakatoi area.
Letlow’s gun was recovered along with eight rounds and eight spent shells, while Aaron’s was not found. A spent 12-gauge shotgun cartridge was found at the scene along with the ATV.
