3 fishermen still missing 5 days later

Corentyne piracy attack

Some five days after a fishing vessel was attacked and its occupants thrown overboard by pirates in the

Corentyne River, three of the fishermen remain missing.

The three missing fishermen – Dochan Sukra, 54, called “Butcher”, of Number 55 Village; Dhanpaul Rampaul, of Number 67 Village; and Munish Churman, 26, called “Boyo”, of Number 60 Village – were thrown overboard in the Corentyne River on Saturday and are still missing while their colleagues and relatives continue tosearch for them.

On Friday last, five pirates carried out attacks on three boats in the Corentyne River.

During the first attack, the hapless Captain, Seepersaud Persaud, 43, of Corriverton, Berbice, was thrown overboard five miles offshore but was rescued by other fishermen after swimming for three hours. The pirates also threw Hemchand Sookdeo, 45, and the remaining men into the water after beating him. Sookdeo’s body was found by other fishermen as they were pulling up their seine, however; the other three remain missing. The three missing men were tied to anchors and then thrown overboard. Details of what transpired during the attack was related by Persaud who indicated that the four crew members were held captive and led to two other boats to steal their catch.

Meanwhile, the five suspects who were arrested on Saturday remain in custody. Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam revealed that the Police were successful in obtaining permission to detain the suspects beyond the stipulated 72-hour detention period. However, he had earlier indicated that the Police were facing difficulty implementing charges against the five suspects.

Investigators have already obtained a confession statement implicating the five suspects in the attack. One of the suspects, during interrogation, detailed how they placed anchors on three of the fishermen and threw them overboard.

On Friday, a team of local Police investigators, led by Deputy Commander Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, left for neighbouring Suriname to meet with their counterparts in relation to the attack. Amsterdam also indicated that a file on the case has been prepared and sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.