Venezuelan bandits attack, rob Port Kaituma businessman, wife

…escape with guns, ammo, cash
…open fire on Police

A 56-year-old businessman and his reputed wife were on Monday robbed of several firearms, ammunition and other valuables at Port Kaituma Water Front, North West District (NWD), by three armed Venezuelan nationals.
Elroy Allam also called “Chinee”, a licensed firearm holder and his reputed wife, Shonna Campbell of Port Kaituma Water Front, were attacked by the three men at their business place – “Chinee and Daughter’s General Store.”
Preliminary investigations by the Police revealed that the couple was relieved of one .223 semi-automatic rifle with 30 live rounds of matching ammunition along with one magazine; one .32 semi-automatic pistol with ten live rounds of ammunition and two magazines; one twelve-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, $10 million cash, a quantity of gold jewellery and two mobile phones.
After the men left, an alarm was raised and the Police along with members so the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard at Morwhanna were contacted.
Based on information received, the members of the Joint Services went in search of the three men. It was reported that while the Police were in the vicinity of the Aruka River they observed a boat with several occupants.
However, upon seeing the Police, the occupants of the boat opened fire, thus forcing them to retaliate by returning fire.
The boat, nevertheless, headed in the direction of Morwhanna at the Guyana-Venezuela border where the men made good their escape. The Police are reviewing the footage taken from the CCTV cameras as they continue their investigations.
Meanwhile, the Police confirmed that none of the Joint Service’s ranks was injured during the attack. The Police could not confirm if any of the suspects were injured.
Back in September, members of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force came under fire in the Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
It was reported that shots were fired from the Venezuelan shore, reportedly by notorious Syndicato gang members but none of the ranks received injuries.
As such, the Guyanese lawmen returned fire. At the time of the attack, the ranks were patrolling the Guyana-Venezuela border.
“Aggressive joint boat patrols by the Guyanese security forces have since been intensified in the Cuyuni River area,” the GDF had stated in a release to the press.
Guyana’s border with Venezuela is more than 1000 kilometres long and patrols are conducted on a routine basis.
The GDF had stated that the encounter was not the first and as such, several measures are being explored towards resolution.
Guyana and Venezuela are currently before the International Court as Venezuela continues to lay claims to Guyana’s Essequibo and part of its exclusive economic zone.