Six arrested for Kaieteur News grenade incident

Last Updated on Tuesday, 7 June 2016, 8:15 by Denis Chabrol

Six persons were early Tuesday morning arrested in connection with the presence of a live grenade near the vehicle owned and driven by the publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall.

“Relative to the investigation into the grenade attack at Kaieteur News, detectives from the Guyana Police Force after reviewing surveillance footage have detained a motor car matching the description and six suspects,”  the Guyana Police Force said in a statement.

Ballistic experts said the pin was detached from the live fragmentation grenade, but the most likely reason that it did not explode was because it malfunctioned due to poor storage.

Commander for ‘A’ Division, Assistant Commissioner, Clifton Hicken said the suspects were arrested at several locations in Sophia, South Georgetown and its environs.

Hicken explained that the driver of a car , which was found abandoned shortly after the grenade was seen near the vehicle Saturday night, admitted that the car was not hijacked but was loaned to a friend. The police officer said the owner of the car has named the person to whom the car was loaned.

The Commander expressed his sincere thanks to members of the public who have been assisting with the probe. “We want to thank the public for coming on board to share information to bring closure to this incident. We are optimistic that we will bring closure,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

The grenade was found late Saturday night near Lall’s vehicle while several Kaieteur News staffers were nearby attending a wake for Dale Andrews who died hours earlier.