Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 15, 2009 News
– cops question men held with firearm, drugs
The brutal attack on the Hopkinson mining operation in the Barama River two Saturdays ago may have been orchestrated by persons involved in large-scale marijuana farming in the area, police sources said yesterday.
Kaieteur News has confirmed that some of the Brazilian miners from the camp which was attacked reported stumbling on several marijuana plants in the vicinity of the mining area.
Investigators now suspect that persons involved in the marijuana cultivation feared that the presence of strangers would cause their operation to be exposed.
One theory is that the gunmen may have merely intended to scare the miners away when they fired at the dredge, but ended up killing general manager Regerton Simon and wounding his colleague, Malvin Edwards.
Sources who spoke to Kaieteur News suggested that some persons who are assisting the marijuana farmers would attempt to shield the culprits.
Meanwhile, a police source said that two men who were arrested in connection with the investigation have been brought to Georgetown for further questioning. There are reports that the men were held with a firearm and a quantity of marijuana. However, it is unclear whether investigators have found anything to link them to the attack.
Initial reports suggest that persons who felt that the dredge was polluting the Barama River had attacked the dredge.
Hopkinson had revealed that he had shifted his dredge to its present location after a Toshao had expressed similar concern.
But in an interview on Sunday, dredge owner Morris Hopkinson said that he is using a new type of dredge that does not pollute the waters.
Hopkinson said that unlike land dredges which destroy trees, erode the river banks and pollute the water, his dredge pulls sand from the river bed.
In addition, he said that no mercury or human waste is deposited into the river.
He also said he is still to decide whether to remain in the area, although he has invested millions to go there. He is contemplating hiring armed security personnel to protect his crew. Regerton Simon, the general manager, Malvin Edwards, a welder, and four Brazilians were on the dredge at around noon on September 5 when they were allegedly shot by the occupants of a passing boat. Simon, called ‘Baba’, succumbed from a shotgun blast to the chest.
Malvin Edwards, a welder, was struck with gunshot pellets to the head, chest and right arm.
He also suffered a punctured lung and is being treated at the Georgetown Hospital. His condition has improved but he still has some difficulty speaking, although he is responding to family members.
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