Last Updated on Thursday, 12 March 2026, 17:44 by Writer
A gold miner has been beaten to death and two others injured after they were accused of stealing a quantity of the precious yellow metal from a mining operation at a camp on the Siparuni River in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), police said on Thursday.
The dead man has been identified as 32-year-old Rowell “Kabaloo” La Cruz of Warapoka Village, North West District.
The others, who have been seriously injured and are admitted to health care facilities, are a 36-year-old man of Blygezight, Greater Georgetown and Fair View Village, North Rupununi and a 25-year-old miner of Paramakatoi Village, North Pakaraimas.
Police said they were searching for three men who allegedly committed the offences on Tuesday.
Investigators said they were informed that La Cruz and another man, both employed at a dredging operation, were in the kitchen area when they were approached by three men who accused them of stealing gold from a sluice box.
The men were then ordered to a nearby watch camp where they met another male.
The surviving victims alleged that the suspects, armed with a handgun, cutlasses and a mattock handle beat them, causing injuries, after which they left the area.
“The injured men were assisted by public-spirited citizens and taken towards the river front. However, Rowell La Cruz succumbed to his injuries while being transported and his body was later placed at a nearby camp,” the Guyana Police Force said in a statement.
Police added that the two other men who were injured during the incident were taken to separate medical facilities, where they were admitted.
Police said they later visited the scene where the body of the deceased was found lying motionless with marks of violence about his body.
The body was escorted to the Linden Hospital Complex Mortuary for death confirmation and a post-mortem examination.
