Four Brazilians, including one who is implicated in the brutal slaying of two policemen in October, were arrested yesterday by police who raided their mining camp at Karisparu, North Pakaraimas and found some 176 explosives.
Police in a release yesterday said after searching the mining camp they found the explosives, said to be Ibigel brand.
The release said that one of the men arrested is wanted for the murder of Constables Marlon Letlow and Leadon Aaron whose bodies were found on October 14 at Paramakatoi, North Pakaraimas. Their bodies were found after they had left the Kato Police Station on patrol duties and they were both shot while Aaron was also tied to a tree trunk and burnt.
Sources yesterday told this newspaper that the Brazilians may have been involved in large scale illegal mining and might have been using the explosives to assist them. According to sources while explosives are used to assist in mining, depending on the depth of the mining, persons need authorization to use same and medium scale miners are not authorized to use this method of mining.
The source pointed out that when large scale, open pit miner Omai Gold Mines Limited was in operation it used explosives because it would have had trained personnel to do this.
“But you could get jail for using explosives without authorization and this is not given to anyone because it is a very dangerous form of mining and persons’ lives could be put at risk,” the source said.
Following the death of the policemen, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had told this newspaper that investigators were able to confirm that the duo had taken money from an excavator operator. “It has been confirmed that they demanded money ($300, 000) from a miner who owns an excavator,” he had said, noting that operator is Brazilian and his son was among those held for questioning. The two ranks had left the Kato Police Station on an ATV on patrol duties on October 14 and never returned. Two days later police received information that an upturned ATV with its headlamps on was found at Paramakatoi. It had apparently been spotted by a Brazilian man who was passing through the area. The man also spotted blood on the vehicle but saw no one.
Sometime on the following day, the bloodied bodies of the two men were found in the general area. Letlow, 27, was found lying face down with gunshot wounds to his back while Aaron, 25, was found tied to a still smoking tree trunk a short distance away.
Aaron had been stationed in the interior area for just over two years, while Letlow had been there for six weeks.
Police had said in a press release, “The service Carbine that had been uplifted by Constable Marlon Letlow was recovered along with eight rounds and eight spent shells. The .38 service revolver that had been uplifted by Constable Leadon Aaron has not been found.”
The release added that one spent 12-gauge shotgun cartridge had been found at the scene, and the force‘s ATV had been recovered.
The police had said that Letlow was reinstated in the force on August 6 this year after he had been interdicted from duty after being charged following investigations into the robbery and murder of two gold miners at Bartica on September 5, 2010. The matter was dismissed by the court on May 15, this year.
