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The
Guyana Defence Force (GDF) last night announced it was seeking a
second man in connection with the shocking theft of 33 AK-47
rifles and five pistols from the armoury at its Camp Ayanganna
headquarters in Georgetown.
JAMES GIBSON
A
statement from the Army said its Military Criminal Investigation
Department "wishes to interview Mr James Gibson."
Anyone
knowing his whereabouts is asked to contact investigators at
hotline numbers: 226-0119; 227-7962; 226-8645; 227-7989;
225-8863. GDF officers are manning the hotlines around the
clock.
Gibson
is the second person the Army has announced it is seeking to
question in the probe into the missing high-powered rifles and
the pistols.
The
GDF Monday also announced it wanted to interview former Army
officer Oliver Hinckson in connection with the theft of the
weapons.
The
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is helping
the GDF in its probe. An agent from the top American agency who
Tuesday began collaborating with the GDF team probing the theft,
is due back here early next week to bolster the investigation,
Army spokesman Lt Col Claude Fraser told the Guyana Chronicle.
He
said the six soldiers confined since the guns were found missing
after a check of the armoury at the GDF Camp Ayanganna
headquarters in Georgetown, were still being interrogated.
The
Guyana Chronicle understands that investigators also want to
question a central figure in a fringe group with strong links in
the troubled Buxton, East Coast Demerara village, which had
previously expressed extreme public views on the political
situation here.
The
FBI agent Tuesday inspected the bond from which the weapons were
stolen and the Guyana Chronicle understands that the agency will
be helping with DNA, forensic and other tests of clues left
behind in the bond by those who stole the weapons.
A
pants and a pair of gloves left behind by those who removed the
guns from the storage bond have also been retrieved and these
are to be subject to forensic, DNA and other tests, the source
said.
Swabs
from other clues left behind by the thieves are being sent to
the U.S. for forensic, DNA and other tests, the source told this
newspaper.
News
that the AK-47 M rifles and five pistols were stolen from the
GDF base raised fears that the automatic weapons may have been
sold to criminal gangs, including those holed out in the back
lands in Buxton, known to use AK-47s in attacks.
An
Army spokesman last week said the investigation has pointed to
the "very strong possibility that ranks from the GDF may be
involved in the disappearance of these weapons."
Another
'asshole',
Donald Ramotar
Meanwhile,
General Secretary of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), Mr
Donald Ramotar yesterday said the party was "extremely
worried" and "very concerned" about the
disappearance of the weapons.
"We
are extremely worried and very concerned that incidents like
this are occurring in our Disciplined Forces," he told
reporters. "Like all law-abiding citizens, we are all
concerned about this disappearance of the weapons."
He
said from all indications, the weapons are obviously in the
"hands of elements that are not necessarily law-abiding or
have good intentions".
"So
it is extremely troubling at this point in time and we are ready
to give all the support necessary to the investigating team in
order to try and recover these weapons as early as
possible," he said.
The
guns are believed to have been spirited out of the storage bond
through ventilation mesh cut close to the top of the building in
the compound of the Camp Ayanganna base.
Friday,
March 10, 2006
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