The police have sought legal advice on possible charges against the suspects in last Monday’s robbery at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip, during which a quantity of raw gold was stolen, Crime Chief (ag) Michael Kingston has said.
Kingston, when contacted for an update last evening, told Stabroek News that the case file was dispatched yesterday for legal advice, which will determine the way forward in the matter.
The four suspects, who include a policeman, remained in police custody up to last evening.
The High Court on Friday granted the police additional time to further detain the suspects.
Three of the suspects, including the policeman, were arrested shortly after the robbery, which occurred around 1.30pm last Monday during which a quantity of raw gold was stolen.
The other two suspects are a businessman and the alleged mastermind of the crime.
The fourth suspect was arrested sometime last Tuesday evening.
Kingston had previously said that the policeman was arrested after one of the main suspects implicated him.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that the alleged mastermind knows the owner of the raw gold, Jairam Sukuram, a gold miner of Barama River.
He allegedly planned the crime based on his knowledge of Sukuram’s business and his scheduled transactions.
Three men were attacked last Monday and robbed of over two kilogrammes of raw gold belonging to Sukuram, while they were awaiting the arrival of a flight at the Matthews Ridge Airstrip.
The raw gold, this newspaper was told, was handed by Sukuram to the men to deliver to the airstrip.
The victims were identified as Jose Da Costa, 58, a Brazilian national; Gary David, of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara; and Kevin Gomes, of Arakaka, North West District.
Da Costa and David are said to be employed with Sukuram, while Gomes was the driver of the pick-up that transported them to the airstrip.
The crime was reportedly committed by four men armed with AK-47 assault rifles and handguns. The police later arrested the suspects and recovered a quantity of gold, two 9mm handguns with magazines, an AK-47 rifle with a magazine, a quantity of ammunition, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device and a camouflage jacket.
