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Fuel truck hijacked on Mabura Road

By Devina Samaroo

In excess of $4 million worth of fuel is now missing and two persons are injured following the hijacking of a fuel truck along the Mabura Road, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Motor lorry GSS 1819 was transporting fuel en route to Mahdia from Georgetown when the incident occurred.

Guyana Times was told that two persons travelling in a motor vehicle drove up alongside the moving truck and informed the truck driver that a spare wheel had fallen off the tray.

The truck driver stopped the lorry and upon investigation, noticed that indeed the spare wheel was missing. The two persons offered to lead the truck driver to the location where the wheel had fallen off and the two vehicles began to proceed along Mabura road.

Some 15 miles later, the two vehicles came to a halt and the men exited their vehicles to look for the wheel.

It was at that moment six armed men joined the other two persons and attacked the truck driver and porter. According to information, the men were stripped of their clothing and received several blows about their bodies, resulting in minor injuries.  After incapacitating the men, the attackers then reportedly fled the scene in the motor lorry and the other motor vehicle.

This newspaper understands that the injured men waited on the deserted road until another truck came by and hitched a ride to the Linden Police Station.

Contacted for a comment on the matter, Divisional Commander Calvin Brutus told this publication that upon receiving the report around 10:00h on Saturday, three teams were immediately dispatched to nearby areas in search of the missing truck. He disclosed that the teams covered Mabura, Omai, the Amaila Falls road, and other areas, but the truck was nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, he noted that the teams would be dispatched again to comb other areas in search of the truck. Prompted for further details, Commander Brutus stated that Police Officers were receiving conflicting reports from the driver and the porter.

Meanwhile, Guyana Times contacted the owner of the truck, Deodat Dhanraj of First Street, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), who expressed great worry over what transpired.

He noted that only last month, a similar incident took place when a Brazilian miner had his truck hijacked in a similar manner along a different “bush trail”.

Although information reaching him was also sketchy, Dhanraj stressed that he did not believe his workers conspired to have the truck hijacked.

When questioned further, Dhanraj said he believed that one of the attackers sabotaged the truck so the spare wheel would fall off.

“The drive is so slow that somebody could have hopped onto the truck and then they could cut the rope…somebody could climb on the truck whilst the truck was driving,” he stated, noting that it could have been a part of a plot to lure his workers into the ambush.

Investigations into the matter are currently ongoing. (devinas@guyanatimesgy.com)

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