Berbice river crash reportedly a deliberate act- Police Source

Multiple sources out of Berbice and within law enforcement have suggested that the crash in the Berbice River which was first reported as a mishap may have been deliberate act engineers by the occupants of one of the vessels involved as a means of evading law enforcement officers.

This publication has received information that the occupants of the larger boat who had earlier picked up a shipment of narcotics from a location inside the Berbice River reportedly received information that the police were aware of the transaction and was en route to intercept them.

As a consequence, when they saw a smaller boat coming in their direction, it is believed that they used their boat to run the smaller boat over as an evasive tactic, however, it turned out that the smaller boat was not carrying law enforcement officers but rather civilians.

50-year-old Julian McKenzie of Sandhills, Upper Berbice River, 24-year-old Romario DenHearte of 41 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam Berbice, 37-year-old Kidman Lindie of 41 Stanleytown Berbice and 60-year-old Godfrey DenHearte of Sandhills, Upper Berbice River all died of drowning as a result of the Tuesday night episode.

BIG Smith News Watch informed that at the time of the accident, the men in the larger boat, four of whom are presently in police custody, had 36.97 kilograms of narcotics on-board their vessel at the time of the crash. The illegal substance was confiscated when the police carried out a search in the village of Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice after acting on intelligence.

Marvin Kissoon, the captain of the larger boat told the police on Wednesday that they were traveling and when they noticed a boat in their path, maneuvers were made to avoid the collision but the other boat also made manoeuvers and ended up in their path resulting in the collision.

They further told the police that after the crash, they decided to keep on driving as they realized that the occupants of the other boat had not resurfaced after occupants from both boats were tossed into the water. One police source related that based on the impact, the smaller boat suffered extensive damage and the point of impact suggests that it was hit mostly to the side.

A 20-year-old labourer of Maria Henrietta Village, Berbice River, a 51-year-old labourer of Adelphi Village, East Canje Berbice, a 23-year-old labourer of No.2 Village Canje, and the Berbice and 39-year-old fisherman Marvin Kissoon of Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje Berbice who was piloting the narcotics vessel has since been arrested and are being processed for court. Another man who hails from Palmyra Village, Corentyne Berbice is also being sought by the police.