Businessman, cop among four charged over Matthews Ridge airstrip gold heist
-lawyer says metal found belonged to client
Four men, including a Region One businessman and a policeman, were remanded to prison yesterday after they were charged jointly with the Matthews Ridge airstrip robbery in which over $18 million in raw gold was stolen.
Businessman Baldeo Francis, 37, policeman Kurt Nedd, 27, Ramesh Singh, 45, and Leron Campbell, 26, were not required to plead to the indictable charge that on November 11th, 2019, at Matthews Ridge, North West District, while being armed with guns, they robbed Jose De Costa of $95,000 and a quantity of raw gold valued $18 million, which were the property of Deonarine Sukraj.
The quartet appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty, who read the charge in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court Five.
Francis was read two additional charges. It is alleged that on November 11th, 2019, at Skull Mountain, Arakaka, Region One, he had a .223 rifle and two 9 mm pistols in his possession when he was not the holder of a firearm licence, and that on the same date and at the same location, he had 120 rounds of ammunition in his possession, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence.
Prosecutor Seon Blackman objected to bail being granted to all four of the defendants, citing the fact that a weapon was used and the seriousness and prevalence of the offence.
On the day in question, he said, the victims went to the airstrip at Matthews Ridge to await private transport when they were attacked by men armed with AK-47s. He said the robbers ordered the men to lie on the ground at gunpoint after which they relieved them of the articles mentioned in the charge.
Acting on information received, Blackman further added, a policeman carried out a search on a vehicle and discovered the gold in three gas bottles. The gold was subsequently shown to Francis, who is said to have immediately admitted to the offence.
As it relates to the two additional charges against Francis, Blackman stated that after he was stopped and questioned by the policeman, Francis cooperated with the police and took them to his home, where he showed the policeman where the firearms and ammunition that were used in the robbery were located.
Attorney Jerome Khan appeared for Francis and attempted to seek bail by claiming that the gold that was found in fact belonged to his client. In his unsuccessful bail application, he told the court that Francis, a businessman of Skull Mountain, is a gold miner and would also regularly trade goods in exchange for gold.
On the day, in question, he said, Francis was stopped by a police corporal while he was heading to Port Kaituma. The policeman asked him to search the vehicle and during the search, Francis directed him to the gold, which was hidden in gas bottles.
He added that a quantity of the gold that was found in his client’s possession is missing and is not in the pictures that were published by various media outlets. In relation to the firearm and ammunition charges, the lawyer said that when Francis was taken to his home at Skull Mountain, Arakaka, he was left in the vehicle while police searched the house. Contrary to what the police are saying, the lawyer said, his client did not show them the firearms and ammunition. He said, Francis only saw when the policeman unwrapped a cloth with the firearms.
Nedd and Campbell were represented by attorneys George Thomas and Adrian Thompson, respectively. Thomas told the court that his client, who is a police constable from Diamond, never participated in the robbery nor did he confess to the participation of the robbery, while Thompson said that Campbell is a gold miner from Port Kaituma and is willing to submit himself to any conditions that the court should impose if he is granted bail.
Meanwhile, an unrepresented Singh, who is a truck driver of Port Kaituma, was ready to detail the part he played prior to his arrest but was stopped by the magistrate, who said that she was falling asleep from his explanation.
The magistrate subsequently adjourned the matter until November 26th, 2019, when the four men will appear before the Chief Magistrate.