As investigations intensify into the disappearance of four Guyanese men who had travelled to The Bahamas, it has been revealed that one of the men – Krishan Sukraj, also called “Mark” – had been deported from the United States (US) in October 2020.
He was reportedly the husband of one of the sisters of Kevin “Davin” Sukraj, who resided in the United States.
This information was provided by a close relative of the now missing man, who stated that he was deported after he allegedly overstayed his time in that country while working on a visitor’s visa. The relative also confirmed that he was making arrangements to return to the US.
Prior to his being deported, the man had travelled to the US, where he has a teenage daughter.
However, the wife of the missing man has refused to comment on the issue, while another relative has directed all questions about his travel to the US Immigration. Attempts to get this information proved futile.
Family members of Krishna and Kevin Sukraj, also called “Davin”, are maintaining their contention that the men had visited The Bahamas on several occasions, and they continue to refute claims that the men had travelled to The Bahamas in January, 2021 to sneak into the US.
These two men, along with two other Guyanese men, went missing on February 10, 2021, and it is believed that they might have been on a boat on their way to Florida when it capsized.
Along with these four Guyanese, two other persons are missing. More than two days after the boat had capsized, a Jamaican national suspected to be the boat captain was rescued by a group of people on a fishing expedition. It subsequently turned out that Orville Lyons, who was spotted sitting on the wreckage, was not the captain of the boat.
After his dramatic rescue, he reported that, along with himself, there were six other persons in the boat, including Haitian, Jamaican and Guyanese.
He explained that on Wednesday, February 10, the boat departed Bimini shortly after dark, but as they journeyed, the captain became drunk and fell overboard. He was reportedly the only one who knew how to operate the boat. Soon after, the water become rough in the Gulf Stream and the 20-foot boat capsized.
Lyons reported that there were only four life jackets on board, so a decision was taken to give them to those who could not swim. After some time, exhaustion overtook them, and the swimmers decided to swim to shore.
One day after, only the two Jamaicans kept holding on to the wreckage, but this did not last for long. By the third day, Lyons related, his countryman let go of the wreckage. A few hours later, he was rescued by the crew members of a boat, who alerted US Coast Guards.
The men went missing since February 10, 2021, and the relatives of the missing Guyanese are claiming that they had reported the men’s disappearance to the Bahamian lawmen. But the Bahamian authorities have, up to Tuesday last, not received an official missing person’s report.
When a relative was asked on Wednesday why the report was not made, she explained, “All I know is that they went on vacation.” In addition, she was asked about the various social media posts by relatives, who expressed condolences to the family.
“If we not finding them, or hearing anything or seeing anything, what else shall we look for…the good or the worst, u tell me…So if nothing become of this story, shall we say they probably alive???? The captain has to know what happen and the people at the hotel…I keep saying this over and over,” the relative said.
Several persons, including the wife of Kevin, took to social media to suggest that the men are dead. In fact, one cousin who spoke with this publication stated that relatives residing in the US were told that the men had died.
It was previously reported that the sister of Kevin had contacted the US Coast Guards after she had heard reports that a boat had capsized while crossing into the US with six people. But a Police source in The Bahamas has asked, “Why would you contact US Coast Guards about a capsized boat if you weren’t expecting someone who was on it?”
This publication has been told that the four missing Guyanese had been required to pay US$7000 before they left The Bahamas, and upon their arrival in the US, an addition US$8000 had to be handed over.
This has, nevertheless, been vehemently refuted by relatives of the Sukrajs. In fact, the relatives have refuted everything posed to them by this media outlet.
Initially, relatives had claimed that they were not briefed by the US Coast Guards on their recovery mission. It was not until after this publication had informed them of a recording it had secured of the update that they admitted.
After the news had spread about the disappearance, Bahamian media contacted the hotel where the men had stayed until the night of their disappearance.
In that report, the owner of the hotel stated that the four Guyanese, upon checking into the hotel, had said they were from New York. In the same report, the owner said there was a raid at the hotel by immigration authorities, during which the men were arrested.
The woman also noted that upon checking out one day after the raid, the men had informed her that they had gotten back their passports, which had allegedly been confiscated by the Immigration Officers.
But, again, the relatives claimed that immigration never returned their passports.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, authorities in The Bahamas had stated that the skeletal remains of a human were recovered in close proximity to Bimini, and it is being processed to determine whether it is that of one of the missing men.
