Georgetown: Two Police Officers are in custody after they allegedly murdered a Brazilian Gold Miner in Puruni Backdam, Region Seven and tried to dispose of the body on Saturday.
Dead is 37-Years-old Estevao Costa Marques.
Reports indicate that thetwo police ranks, a Subordinate and Constable attached to the Kurupung Police Station abandoned their post sometime on Friday.
The men reportedly left on an ATV to patrol the area but subsequently left the area via a speedboat and went to a Landing in Puruni.
A witness said that the police would normally come and raid the camps – looking to take money from undocumented Brazilian miners in the area.
Around 13:00 Saturday one such raid was being carried out by the two police ranks.
As they approached the camp owned by the victim’s mother, a Brazilian miner known as Maria de Nazaré Costa Marques, the man made a run for the bushes. The witness claims that “the police just point his gun and fired two shots”, with one hitting the young Marques in his back and the other hitting him at the back of his head. The witness opined that the man fell dead instantly, as “his head exploded”.
The witness said after the police shot the man, they clearly began to panic.
“They were attempting to dispose of the body; at one time they even tried to burn the body, but other miners started to create a scene. They (police) were telling the people to clear the area, but all the miners in the area came out and kept a watchful eye on them.
The man’s mother held onto the body for dear life, while the two cops made several attempts to get the body away from her, when they finally did get the body from the mother, they wrapped the body in a plastic and placed it in the boat they had come to the location with, and they then headed for the Puruni Landing.”
This didn’t sit well with the mother who was still reeling from shock, and this was evident in a video that was seen by this publication, of the scene at the Puruni Landing, where the two cops could be seen in the boat with the body while the mother went in and out of consciousness as she mourned her son’s demise.
The witness said the police and the boat captain left for Bartica. The victim’s mother and stepfather, Elvide Pereira De Barros, made an attempt to follow the police boat, but were unable because of the superior horsepower of the law enforcement vessel.
The matter was reported to the Divisional Commander who ordered the arrest of the two ranks. A Team of Officers have since been dispatched to Puruni to further investigate the matter. The man’s body is being transported to Georgetown.
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