Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: A police officer on Wednesday was killed in an ambush by Brazilian criminals in Brokopondo, some 100 kilometers south of the Surinamese capital Paramaribo. Another officer was seriously wounded and admitted to hospital.
Dead is police officer Bartho Karwafodi (30) who was investigating the robbery of 4 kilos of gold in the area with colleague, Theo Stedenburg, and another officer. After they concluded their inquiries, the officers were on their way to the station when they got word that an armed robbery was in progress at a nearby camp.
It is alleged that a group of armed Brazilians were holding a woman hostage while robbing the camp of food and other items. In responding to that information the police officers went back into the area and were ambushed by at least two Brazilians armed with a shotgun and an automatic assault weapon.
Officer Stedenburg sustained gunshots to his chest, hand and foot. Karwafodi was shot in the back and fled to the surrounding woods to take cover. The shootout with the assailants lasted for about ten minutes and the criminals ultimately fled the scene.
Karwafodi’s dead body was found Thursday evening by police and army troops which were sent to the area after the attackers. Police Information Service has advised that the reinforcements will stay in the area and, with help of the national Army police, are trying to curb the recent crime wave in Brokopondo and other parts of the interior of Suriname.
The past week more and more armed robberies were committed by Brazilian criminals. Because of lack of transportation and other necessary equipment by police, it is literally a wild west in the interior where small scale gold mining is flourishing.
Along with the thousands Brazilian gold diggers, called garimpeiros, have come criminals from Brazil, who are targeting not only their fellow countrymen but also other individuals doing business in the interior. Recently there was a spate of holdups of buses carrying people coming from the goldfields.
The newly appointed justice minister, Chandrikapersad Santhoki, warned that the lawlessness must stop. He pledged to send more troops to areas where police activity is minimal. Santhoki, a former police commissioner, stated Thursday that “an appropriate answer would follow to restore law and order”.
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