Eight Guyanese fishermen were attacked and robbed of their vessel on Thursday afternoon in the Waini River by a gang of six men, suspected to be Venezuelan nationals.
Sunday Stabroek was reliably informed that the attack occurred around 3 pm on Thursday in the vicinity of an area called ‘Crab Dog,’ located close to the Guyana/Venezuela border.
The captain of the Guyanese vessel has been identified as Julian Marks, 40, a resident of Dartmouth Village, Essequibo Coast.
A police source told this newspaper that enquiries revealed that Marks and his crew were about to drop their seines when they were ambushed by six Spanish-speaking men, suspected to be Venezuelans, who were armed with shotguns, rifles and pistols.
The men ordered Marks and his crew to jump overboard.
In fear for their lives, they complied.
Thereafter, the men took possession of the crew’s wooden boat, which contained food stuff and other items and drove off into the direction of Venezuela, leaving the victims overboard.
When the pirates were a short distance away, they reportedly cut a smaller boat that was tied to Marks, fishing boat and left it to drift.
Marks and his crew managed to get to the smaller boat and they were subsequently rescued by a passing vessel.
Sunday Stabroek was told that investigators have since visited the scene but several searches for the pirates were unsuccessful.
