At least eight suspects were held in Suriname and Guyana over the past 24 hours as law enforcement authorities continue their probe into deadly piracy attack off the coast of this Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country last weekend, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 fishermen.
Police here said the six suspects held here are believed to be Guyanese nationals and Guyana police have confirmed that they had detained two men linked to the attack. The
Acting Police Commissioner in Guyana, David Ramnarine, said the two suspects were picked up on the southeastern Corentyne coast across the border river with Suriname
“We are not yet sure about their direct involvement but based on the information given to police on Suriname from survivors, we made the arrests. We are investigating and we have the two men in custody,” he said.
Police have not released the names of those detained both here and in Guyana, but there have been media reports that the suspects have been residing here for several years and would regularly travel between the two CARICOM countries.
The Suriname government said last week it was exploring the idea of having fishing boats have mandatory global positioning systems (GPS) as the authorities continue to search for the 16 fishermen believed to have been killed by the pirates. So far at least two bodies have been found.
The Suriname Coast Guard said that the fishermen were part of a group of 20 in four boats who were attacked off the Atlantic coast of Suriname. Five of the fishermen are reported to have survived the ordeal and are assisting the law enforcement agencies in their investigations.
One survivor told investigators that some of the fishermen had weights tied to their feet by the pirates before they were thrown overboard.
President David Granger, speaking at the ongoing Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) workshop for judges and prosecutors, said he was ‘deeply grieved” by the pirate attack.
“We are deeply grieved by the tragedy. Clearly, some Guyanese have been victims and we are in touch with the Surinamese government, also the Surinamese police authorities.
“Our police in the East Berbice, Corentyne division are in touch with their families and we plan to observe formal mourning. It is a great massacre, a great tragedy,” Granger said.
President Granger said that the attack is a setback to the successes achieved in the fight against piracy over the past three years.
“We have been very successful over the last three years in curbing piracy. So, this has come at a great setback. At the moment, we do not have all the information, however, we are in touch with the Surinamese government,” Granger said.
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