The owner of a Cedros coconut estate is calling on the police to do their job after his worker was shot in the chest by Venezuelans thieves.
Emrith Boodram, 24, a watchman and his two colleagues had to flee for their lives after shots were fired at them when they caught two Spanish nationals stealing coconuts while they were on patrol at Constance Estate at Icacos Village on Thursday.
Boodram’s colleague recalled that he, Boodram and another co-worker, a Venezuelan, were about a mile into the field on a tractor when they saw two Spanish nationals picking up coconuts. The 53-year-old man who was afraid to give his name said as they went closer they heard two gunshots and then another one. They reversed and parked a distance away. Two other gunshots were fired and that was when Boodram was shot.
He believes that the assailants were waiting for them and meant to kill them. He complained that this was not the first time they had been attacked or shot at while working on the estate.
“This going on for years, we getting threat from the Spanish and we keep reporting it and the same thing we reporting, is the same thing come and happen, a man get shoot. They (Spanish nationals) have no fear they just doing what they want,” he said.
Complaining that their lives were at risk, he pleaded with the police to arrest the perpetrators. He admited, however, that he had no confidence in the Police Service.
Meanwhile. estate owner, Phillip Agostini is worried about the safety of his workers and the survival of his business.
He said for years his estate had been plundered by local and Spanish nationals, but in recent years the Spanish nationals had become violent, armed themselves with firearms and turned the theft into an enterprise.
“This has been going on for years but getting worse and worse and worse and now it has gotten to the point where yesterday they tried to kill my people. They did not just take a shot from a distance they followed them down, five shots,” he said.
He said Boodram was lucky to be alive as the bullet passed an inch away from his heart.
Agostini has information that the Venezuelans are working for a Trinidadian in Icacos.
He complained that his estate/business is dying and several jobs will be lost and their reports to the police over the years have been ignored.
He said, “We talking about 4,000 to 5,000 nuts a week”
Agostini said truck loads of coconuts are transported daily and they pass in front of several police stations, including Cap-de-Ville, Cedros, and Guapo, but not once would the police stop them and ask them to account for how they came in possession of the coconuts.
He said the coconuts were sold to business places.
Agostini claimed the police only responded to this incident because someone was shot.
“We make reports to the Cedros Police and they don’t care,” he claimed.
Agostini called for increased police patrols.
When contacted, a senior police officer said they were looking into the complaints and the shooting incident is being investigated.
