Twelve now in custody for grenade incident outside Kaieteur News

Last Updated on Thursday, 9 June 2016, 23:28 by Denis Chabrol

Conflicting reports are emerging from 12 persons who are currently in police custody, after having been linked to the placement of a grenade near the vehicle that is usually driven by Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, police sources said Thursday.

Among those in custody is a woman who, according to a police source, appears to be the owner of the vehicle used to transport the perpetrators.

The source disclosed that no definitive conclusion has been drawn about who is the mastermind behind the “domestic act of terrorism”. However, he revealed that there is a reasonable suspicion of whom that person might be since most of the persons in custody have directed the police’s attention to another person who is currently being pursued.

Investigators remained convinced that the alleged mastermind behind the attacked will soon be brought to justice. The source also confirmed that 15 detectives are currently working on the case.

The fragmentation grenade was late Saturday night tossed near the vehicle of Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, outside the newspaper’s office and printery on Saffon Street, Charlestown. Though the device did not explode, it was later discovered that the pin had been detached from it.

First to be apprehended by the police was a 19-year-old man who reportedly confessed to being the driver of a Toyota Spacio, bearing number plate PSS 5252 – the vehicle identified as the one used by the perpetrators to carry out the attack. The vehicle was subsequently found abandoned on Norton Street and Mandela Avenue.

On Tuesday, six men were arrested and the vehicle was seized. The following day, Police approached the court with an application for an extension of the 72 hours detention period, in an attempt to further extract information from those already in custody.

Kaieteur News’ CCTV camera footage shows the silver-grey vehicle heading north on Saffon Street, after which it slowly approached Lall’s vehicle, at which point the grenade was tossed. The vehicle then accelerated and the perpetrators made their escape.