Police hunt for suspect, victim in alleged TIP probe

Police are searching for a 40-year-old suspect and a 17-year-old victim in connection with a suspected case of Trafficking in Persons (TIP), which occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

Police Headquarters in a statement identified the suspect as Neil London, a construction worker of Kumaka Water Front, North West District in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and Grove, East Bank Demerara; the victim has been identified as a Venezuelan national who was residing at Kumaka Water Front.

Police said London befriended the teenager and they were living together for seven days; on Tuesday, at around 08:30h, they both boarded a chartered Air Services Limited plane to Georgetown and have not been heard from or seen since.

According to the police statement, the teenager arrived in Guyana legally in November 2020, after which she brought her 15-year-old brother into the country, also legally.

After she and London left the young man alone at Kumaka, he made a report to the Mabaruma Police Station at around 14:30h on Tuesday. The boy is now in the care of the United Nations Refugee Agency.