The explosions occurred after midnight and blew off the back gate of the East Ruimveldt Police Outpost at Vlissengen Square and East Front Road, Georgetown. The second occurred just moments later at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Substation at Mandela Avenue.

Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, told Kaieteur News that detectives have arrested a Guyanese minibus driver in connection with the blasts that sent shockwaves across communities in the vicinity of East Ruimveldt.  According to the Crime Chief, the driver is assisting police with investigations. Investigations have so far pointed police in the direction of three foreign nationals. “The police are pursuing three individuals, two Spanish-speaking men and a Brazilian national known by his alias, ‘Flavio Tasso’”, police told Kaieteur News last Tuesday.

Flavio had allegedly introduced the Spanish-speaking men to the bus driver, who assisted them in renting three rooms at a hotel at Stevedore Housing Scheme, Georgetown.  The Brazilian had also told him that the men had come to Guyana to do “bad things”, police said. Police also said that investigators have compelling evidence against the Spanish-speaking men to suggest that they were the ones behind the explosions and have even impounded the vehicle used to transport them to the scene. “We haven’t confirmed whether they are from Venezuela of Colombia, or some other country,” police said, while assuring, “Investigators are still making earnest efforts to confirm the nationality of the two Spanish-speaking suspects”.

Media reports are that security cameras mounted on buildings close to the East Ruimveldt police outpost captured the moment its gate was blown off. “A loud explosion originating from the southern side of the outpost rocked the compound,” police said in a statement on May 18, adding that “A police rank (identified as a female), on duty at the time, heard two distinct blasts, followed by debris impacting nearby rooftops.” The female rank was not injured. She stepped outside to see what had happened and observed that the southern wall of the outpost’s concrete fence had been significantly damaged.

An alarm was raised, and other ranks of the GPF subsequently arrived and found out that the outpost’s metal gate, located on the southern side, was completely blown away. “…And other parts of the outpost sustained structural damage,” police had said. The GPL Substation along Mandela Avenue also experienced suspicious damage around the same timeframe. Blanhum had told Kaieteur News that an “improvised explosive device” might have been used in the blast at the East Ruimveldt Police Outpost. “Police have recovered a quantity of bolts and nuts, along with debris of a shattered hard plastic container from the scene – (debris suspected to be components of the improvised explosive device),” the Crime Chief had said.  (Kaieteur News)