Evidence From Gas Station Blast Sent to India for Testing
December 3 2025
Two pieces of evidence recovered from the scene of the deadly Mobil Gas Station explosion have been sent to India for forensic testing, the court was told on Wednesday, when four of the primary defendants appeared virtually before Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Police Prosecutor Mandel Moore explained that during the investigative team’s detailed combing of the blast site and surrounding areas, several items of evidential value were recovered.
He said two of those items were dispatched to India for specialised testing and analysis. The prosecution requested additional time to allow the results to be returned, and the matter was adjourned to December 16, when disclosure is expected.
Appearing virtually were 33-year-old Venezuelan national Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, believed to be the mastermind in the October 26 terrorist attack; 44-year-old Alexander Bettencourt; 27-year-old taxi driver Johnny Boodram; and 33-year-old Krystal LaCruz.
Attorney Nigel Hughes appeared on behalf of LaCruz, while other defence counsel represented the remaining accused.
The four defendants remain charged with terrorism over the explosion at the Regent and King Streets Mobil Gas Station, which killed six-year-old Soraya Bourne and injured several others. The child had been seated in a vehicle at the fuel pumps when the device detonated.
Prosecutors allege that Poedemo illegally entered Guyana on the morning of the attack and coordinated the operation.
According to investigators, Poedemo and his accomplices conducted surveillance at the gas station between 11:00h and noon, and later that afternoon he attempted to conceal an explosive device in a garbage bin near the pumps.
When confronted by an employee, he placed the device at another section of the compound before fleeing moments ahead of the blast.
CCTV footage and digital evidence, including photographs of the device and clothing believed to have been worn during the attack, were later recovered from a house in Vergenoegen, Region Three, where Poedemo was arrested.
Investigators claim Bettencourt crossed into Guyana with him and assisted in aspects of the plot, while Boodram reportedly transported some of the suspects to the gas station earlier that day during what authorities believe was a reconnaissance trip.
LaCruz, who frequently hired Boodram as a driver, is alleged to have been part of the coordinating network.
Meanwhile, three other persons charged separately in relation to the bombing, Wayne Correia, Ramesh Pramdeo, and Jennifer Rodriguez, also recently appeared before the Leonora Magistrates’ Court.
Their matter is set to continue on December 17.
Investigators have alleged that Correia contacted Pramdeo to transport LaCruz and another Venezuelan from Parika to a hotel in Meten-Meer-Zorg, paying him with cash believed to be proceeds from raw gold valued at more than $600,000.
Rodriguez is accused of assisting in coordinating the group’s movements and communications prior to the explosion.
All seven defendants remain before the courts as the high-profile terrorism case continues, with the main matter set for disclosure on December 16, pending the arrival of the forensic results from India.
