Trio fined for theft of equipment parts from BK Quarries

Three men were each fined $50,000 after they admitted to stealing heavy-duty equipment parts from BK Quarries, Teperu, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
The men, Kurt Benfield of Prince William Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Quincy Davis of D’Urban Street, Georgetown; and Paul Persaud of Third Street, Mon Repos, ECD, were reportedly caught red-handed stealing the items.

When they appeared at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court, they opted to plead guilty to a simple larceny charge. They were each fined $50,000 with an alternative of six months’ imprisonment.

Guyana Times understands that the theft of the equipment parts had been going on for years. It only came to light recently when a security guard noticed the men acting suspiciously.
As such, the guard approached the men and questioned them during which one of them told him that they would fix him up early the next morning.
The guard then alerted his supervisor. But by the time the supervisor arrived, the men had disappeared; however, they had already been identified.
The men, when apprehended, led the security team to the waterfront where they had hidden the stolen items. Some of the stolen articles were found hidden in a boat.

The items were estimated to cost about $200,000. They were detained and taken to the Bartica Police Station. While there, they reportedly confessed that they had been stealing from the company for years.
Meanwhile, senior officials at the quarry said that because of the wide expanse of the quarry, people were able to time the security patrols. They would go to the location where the equipment is and remove whatever part they needed.
According to reports, the men who were fined on conviction were allegedly drug users. It is believed that they would sell the stolen goods to buy marijuana.