'Death wish' gang out to settle scores
Despite peace treaty, cops believe...
Darryl Heeralal
Sunday, October 1st 2006
A GANG of fugitives with a seeming death wish is bent on killing adherents to the Laventille "peace treaty", police and intended targets are claiming.
Two of the gang members-Kamau Farai, 23, and Hamid Neils, 21-already wanted by police for several murders, are also suspected in the gunning down of Dexter Hamlet at Chafford Court, Port of Spain, yesterday.
Even before this, they both were on this country's most wanted list.
Farai and his crew have not signed on to the peace treaty and police believe that because they are wanted men "with nothing to lose", they are out to "settle all scores".
But police remain hopeful that the peace accord holds and that Hamlet's murder does not lead to an all-out gang war in East Port of Spain and its environs.
Hamlet was one of the men present at last month's Crowne Plaza meeting between gang leaders and Sports Minister Roger Boynes.
In April 2005, the police published photographs of Farai, also known as Kamaroo Farai, and Neils, alias Hamid Farrell, in the newspapers and said that murder warrants were out for their arrests.
Farai is wanted for the murders of two members of a Gonzales family-Susan Rajcoomar and Sham Ramdass-on January 13, 2005.
Police claim they have information that Farai threatened to "kill everybody and done" after his brother, Chikaru Farai, then 19, was gunned down on Charlotte Street last January, reportedly by members of the G-Unit gang.
Chikaru, police say, was killed in revenge for acts his brother committed.
Officers from the Homicide Bureau yesterday confirmed that they had information that Farai, Neils and another man were behind the murder of the 33-year-old Hamlet.
The killers also ran after Hamlet's 11-year-old son, in what police say was an attempt to kill the boy.
Hamlet was standing outside Building B when he was shot by the three men around 10.45 a.m.
The mechanic, also known as "Country", died while being treated at hospital.
The "death wish" gangsters have also threatened to kill the alleged head of the Chafford Court-based G-Unit, identified as "Fresh", his right-hand man, Jah David, and anyone else who comes in their way.
The G-Unit is one of the main gangs involved in the "peace treaty" and Fresh is on the executive council of Laventille, which was an action group formed after the Crowne Plaza meeting.
Two Thursdays ago, the "death wish" gang tried to kill David at Basilon Street, East Dry River.
David escaped after a bullet "grazed" his right eye.
The war between Farai and the G-Unit dates back to 2002 with the murder of David's brother, and the tit-for-tat killings were said to be the result of "disrespect in the ghetto".
"If we was not on peace, no man could just walk in Chafford Court and shoot somebody," David, speaking on behalf of the G-Unit, said yesterday, and elaborated:
"All we guns down."
David promised there will be a gun amnesty soon but would give no further details.
The Sunday Express interview was interrupted when Minister in the Ministry of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds telephoned David to get a first-hand account of the murder.
Hinds is now the Government representative dealing with the Executive Council of Laventille.
David has also confirmed that he was informed about Farai's intention to "kill anybody linking with the G-Unit".
But David insists that Hamlet's murder and Farai's promise to kill more will not break the fragile peace in the crime-ridden east Port of Spain and Laventille districts.
"We on peace. Every day we working on it," David said.
"Don't matter this happen, we have to go ahead with the peace. This is not for us, this for our children. We not fighting fire with fire. We not going to bloody we hand. That is just spinning top in mud," David said.
Asked what then he and his colleagues intend to do about Farai and his men, David said they would do their own investigations into the killing.
"We are hoping that the public helps us to find these men and when we find them we intend to talk to some senior police and hand over the information."
And, David was quick to say, anyone who gave them information would not been seen as an "informer", but someone willing to "make the peace work".
He said: "If the public continues harbouring these men they just going to continue killing."
Yesterday, senior Homicide detectives said they welcome any help with their investigations, but added that they had their jobs to do in solving Hamlet's murder.
