Police in Berbice have apprehended a man who is believed to have been a part of the notorious gang that has been terrorising residents on the Corentyne.
The intelligence-led operation which started on Wednesday evening and ended on Thursday morning, led to the arrest of two-time prison escapee Vinod Gopaul, 29, who was found hiding in an abandoned house at Yakusari, Black Bush Polder.
Gopaul was wanted by the police following the fatal shooting of three bandits on May 19, 2019, at Black Bush Polder.
Thursday’s operation also involved members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
Gopaul was charged for several counts of armed robberies. Most of the robberies were allegedly committed in the Black Bush Polder area and on the Corentyne Coast.
In June 2011, he escaped from custody. At the time he was serving a sentence for the 2004 murder of his father whom he shot and killed.
He was also among 18 prisoners who escaped from the Camp Street Prison in 2007 and was recaptured shortly after and charged while some of the other prisoners were shot dead.
Further, he escaped again in June 2011 along with notorious high seas pirate, Kevin “Long Hair” Narine, Rickford Le Fleur, and Vijay Seenarine of Skeldon.
However, following several robberies on the Corentyne, police ranks raided the backlands of Johanna in the Black Bush Polder with the aim of capturing the wanted bandits.
