| Guyana-born Maikel Poeran Gopi (left) and Ricky Sardjoe– Suspects believed to be Suriname’s most wantedThe Chesney, Corentyne home of Shabana Samad, a member of the Neighbourhood Police, came under machinegun fire on Wednesday night. The gunmen were suspected to be two men wanted by the police in Suriname and neighbouring Venezuela.According to the 33-year-old woman who is attached to the Albion Police Station, she was preparing for bed, along with her husband and two children, aged 16 and 12, when they began smelling gasoline.The family operates a shop in the two storey wood and concrete building. Her husband, 38-year-old Narine Deonarine, is an employee at the nearby Albion Estate.The woman said that as the scent got stronger her husband was about to investigate when a barrage of gunfire erupted around their home.Samad said she and her family did not bother to venture outside, but instead lay on the floor and tried to keep each other safe. While securing themselves in the house, Samad said they began getting a smell as if some part of their house was on fire.“We just stayed down on the floor, we couldn’t do anything else, but luckily our house was properly secured.”The ordeal lasted for approximately ten minutes, and Samad described it as “the longest ten minutes of my family’s life.”According to reports, the house which is located at Lot 14 Chesney, Albion, was shot up and an attempt made to set it alight just around 23:00 hours.After the gunshots died down the woman said they immediately contacted the police who responded promptly.“I can’t complain about the police response. By the time we get up and look outside we didn’t see anybody, no car speeding away, nobody running away, nothing…It was a well-planned attack.”Samad added that once the police arrived she and her husband began making checks around the house. The mother of two said that from all indications the attackers doused a mat with gasoline and placed it at their front door then set fire to it.“The mat had plenty sand so that kind of prevent the fire from spreading because if it wasn’t for the heavy sand on the mat we probably would have lost our house and lives.”She said that only the front door, where the mat had been placed, was severely scorched.The woman added that several windows of the house were completely damaged and most of the walls have bullet holes.A number of bullets holes were seen on the walls around the house and one even shattered a window. The bullets penetrated the concrete walls on the house. A number of spent shells of the 9mm calibre were retrieved from around the house and in the yard.About the same time the bandits attempted to set the house afire,Cheap Hockey Jerseys, 24-year-old Kevin LaFleur, of Lot 23A Fyrish Village, Corentyne, and a male employee at the nearby Albion Estate, were on their way home.The men later reported that they saw two men, one wearing a red shirt and the other a white cap. The two were standing near the shop with a small fire lit in front. The shop was the one operated by Samad and Deonarine.The two thought that the men had probably just exited the rum shop and were “lighting a smoke (cigarette)”.As they were about to pass they heard what sounded like squibs. They soon realised it was gunshots when LaFleur was hit in the right leg.Neighbourhood Policewoman Shabana Samad and her husband Narine DeonarineHe fell off his bike and sought cover in the corner of the street. The other man discarded his bike and scrambled to safety back at the estate. The men continued shooting after them as they fled.A police statement on the incident stated that during a shooting incident that occurred at Chesney Public Road, Kevin La Fleur, of Fyrish, Corentyne, was shot and injured.According to the police, La Fleur and a male friend also of Fyrish, Corentyne, were riding separate bicycles on their way home from work, and as they passed two men who were standing on the roadway at Chesney Public Road, several gunshots were heard, during which La Fleur was hit to his left thigh. His friend, who dropped his bicycle and ran away, was unhurt.La Fleur was escorted to the Port Mourant Hospital where he was referred to the New Amsterdam Hospital and admitted in a stable condition.According to his father, Oswald La Fleur, they received the message about minutes to midnight that Kevin had been shot and was in hospital. They immediately joined a car and headed to the hospital.The senior La Fleur said that when they arrived at the hospital his son was receiving treatment. He was conscious and told them what had happened.According to the police statement, a glass window of a nearby home was also damaged. It was also stated that six men have been arrested and are in police custody assisting with the investigations.Also in custody were some women who the people said shared a liaison with the wanted men.It is also understood that attempts were also made to set another house in the area on fire, but that also failed.Residents in the area believe the gunmen are the two men whose pictures were recently in the papers as being wanted in Suriname. They said that the men bought a house and land for about $840,000 and were living in the area for about five months.They believe the men were of the view that they had been ratted on and were carrying out a vendetta on the people nearby.Maikel Poeran Gopi, who is a Guyanese by birth and Ricky Sardjoe, are said to be leaders of the ‘Poeran’ gang, which has been responsible for a series of serious crimes in Suriname. |
