Superintendent Dion Moore, the Commander of Region Seven, has said Guyanese vessels are being attacked by sindicato and guerrilla gangs along the Cuyuni River, resulting in the Joint Services increasing their patrols.
Moore made the disclosure during an episode of the Guyana Police Force’s weekly “Police and You” programme.
Moore stated that the Force has received reports about some of the members of the gangs, who operate out of Venezuela, stopping Guyanese vessels, demanding payments and on other occasions making threats.
The commander said while the perpetrators are not known, based on intelligence received and photographs from patrols being done, the gang members were seen armed with rifles and handguns.
Following the discovery of the gang’s presence, Moore said, the police in the district have increased their patrols, which now comprises both members from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), along the Cuyuni River between Eteringbang and Mokepai, among other areas.
Stabroek News in September of 2020 had reported that a joint patrol comprising ranks of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force came under fire from the Venezuelan shore during a routine joint patrol of the Cuyuni River.
The Guyana Defence Force had said then that it was believed that the gunfire came from Syndicato gang members. No one was injured and they returned fire.
Following the attack, the army said “aggressive” joint patrols by the Guyanese security forces have since been intensified in the Cuyuni River area.
In 2018, some gold and diamond miners had called on the government and military to provide protection from the Venezuelan “sindicato” gangs who were terrorising miners in the Upper Cuyuni River area. The situation continues to be monitored.
