Lusignan Prison escapee nabbed in Suriname handed over to GPF

After being five years on the run, prison escapee Paul Goriah has been recaptured in Suriname, and was handed over to Guyanese law enforcement officers on Thursday.

Goriah, 35, escaped from the Lusignan Prison on July 23, 2017 after he was committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of Anthony Breedy, which occurred between March 12 and 14, 2016 during the commission of a robbery.
However, upon his return to Guyana, he was taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), where he was questioned, during which he told detectives that after escaping from the penitentiary, he made his way to Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
There he was held by Brazilian authorities, but was subsequently released from custody. Upon his release, he lived in Brazil for another year, before travelling to Suriname.
Goriah was arrested back in 2020 after he and two other men had attempted to rob a family in June of that year. The other two men were identified as Krisshaun D, 21, and Gordon L, 54.
It was reported that Goriah had initially identified himself as Kevin Smith. However, when his photograph was sent to local Police, he was identified as a wanted prison escapee. At the time of his arrest, incumbent Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels had confirmed that local authorities were working with officials from Suriname to have him handed over to officials here. He, however, had to serve his time before he was handed over.
The wanted man had escaped while prisoners were being transported to the Lusignan Prisons after the July 7, 2017 fire at the Georgetown Prisons. Goriah’s last known address was given as Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara.
During the fire at the Camp Street Prisons, Lusignan mass killer Mark Royden Williams, ex-cop and double murder accused Uree Varswyk, murder accused Stafrei Alexander, and murder accused Desmond James had all escaped from the Camp Street penitentiary. One prison officer died and several others were injured during that fire.
Varswyk was killed in a shootout with Police in Linden; while Williams, Alexander, and James were all recaptured. However, Goriah and three other men had been charged and remanded to prison for the murder of remigrant agriculturist Anthony Breedy, who was found dead in his Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara home in March 2016.
It was reported that the men escaped from the swampy pasture of the Lusignan Prison by digging a hole about five feet wide and another five feet deep under the perimeter fence.
While there are three layers of security at the penitentiary, the men were able to escape presumably during a downpour that occurred in the wee hours on the day of their escape.