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alexk
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Three months after Cedros fisherman Nicholas Hajarie was rescued by his brother Vickey Sankar after Hajarie and two others were kidnapped by Venezuela’s La Guardia Nacional in local waters, he is now left mourning his brother’s death.
Around 10 pm Wednesday, Sankar, 34, was shot dead outside his home in Icacos Village, Cedros.
Police said Sankar and Hajarie were in the yard when gunmen dressed in dark-coloured clothing emerged from the bushes around the house.
As the gunmen unleashed bullets, Sankar commanded his brother to run.
When the gunmen left and Hajarie came out of hiding, he found his brother’s lifeless body sprawled out in the yard.
Cedros police, South Western Division Task Force and investigators from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three responded and searches were made throughout the fishing village surrounded by sea, swamp and coconut trees.
However, no one was held up to late yesterday. Investigators had no motive for Sankar’s murder. They believe that he was involved in smuggling contraband to and from Venezuela where in wife’s family lives.
A distraught Hajarie told Guardian Media that they had planned to go fishing around 5 am yesterday and had just finished preparing for the trip.
While sitting in the porch, Sankar’s Venezuelan wife said that she heard noise in the back.
As they both walked outside to check it, Sankar noticed someone moving in the bushes. He went to the side of a tank to switch on a light and saw the gunmen coming out of the bush, firing shots.
“He told me to run when he heard the first shot buss, so I run and then I didn’t hear him again. He tried to run but when I came out after, he was just lying on the ground. The men had already run off and escaped. The house not too far from the beach,” Hajaree said.
It had been a traumatic year for their mother, Heermatie Sanker, who cried for weeks after Hajarie, 26, her husband Awardnath, 52, and fellow fisherman Shami Seepersad, 35, were held near a Trinmar offshore installation by La Guardia Nacional and jailed in Venezuela. They were charged for illegally fishing in Venezuelan waters but were reprimanded and released by a court.
But the trio faced difficulties in getting back to Trinidad and it was Sankar who went across to provide clothing, food and shelter for the fishermen at his mother-in-law’s home in Tucupita. It took 16 days before La Guardia Nacional escorted them to local waters, where they were taken back to home soil by the Coast Guard.
Hajaree said his mother has been staying with relatives since she learned of Sankar’s death. Councillor for Cedros Shankar Teelucksingh believes that Sankar’s murder could have been prevented if the Ministry of National Security had provided resources for the law enforcement in the community. He said Cedros residence are still traumatised from last weekend’s shooting at the St Peter’s Day celebration in the community where fishermen Darian Schneider, 24, and Rigel Dookie, 22, were wounded.
Teelucksingh said there were signs of an increase in criminal activities and Cedros police do not have equipment, manpower and instructions from the National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and the National Security Council to lock down the community.
Cedros and Icacos is a known illegal port for the smuggling of drugs, weapons and entrance for illegal immigrants.