Police arrested two men yesterday afternoon minutes after they attacked two of the 900 tourists, who arrived here on Tuesday aboard a cruise ship, snatched a gold chain from one of them in the vicinity of Parliament Building.

Image - Tourist attackers held

While, the tourists will not be available to give evidence against the men, the police also found marijuana seeds and leaves when they searched the men. They are to be charged with that offence, a senior police officer told Stabroek News yesterday. Up to press time last night the men were in custody at the Brickdam Police Station lock-ups.

Shaun Mc Grath, director of Wilderness Explorers, which had organized the Guyana leg of the cruise, played down the robbery when approached for a comment yesterday. He said the highlight of the tourists' visit was their enjoyment of Guyana. Mc Grath said he had not spoken to the robbery victims, but assured this newspaper that from what he had learnt they were not troubled.

Mc Grath also hinted that one of the security guards onboard the cruise had a bitter experience in Trinidad and Tobago.

The cruise ship, Minerva 11 arrived at the John Fernandes Wharf on Tuesday afternoon with 590 passengers and a 320-member crew. About seven of the passengers were Guyanese, while the others came from England and North America.

Speaking to Stabroek News, a vendor said around 2 pm yesterday two tourists, a man and a woman, were walking around Parliament Building when they were attacked. This newspaper understands that the couple might have been sight-seeing. It is not clear where the bandits were, but they suddenly emerged, the vendor said, and attacked the tourists. The woman's chain was snatched from her neck leaving red marks. It is not clear if anything was taken from the man. This newspaper was told that security was very tight yesterday around the city and this was evident when this newspaper visited the wharf and other parts of Georgetown.

According to reports, police ranks in plainclothes spotted the men after they committed the act and summoned a quick reaction patrol from Brickdam, which responded promptly. The bandits who were still in the general area were rounded up and taken to the wharf where the tourists identified them. Police then searched their persons and found the marijuana stems and leaves. Persons around the wharf said the ranks put a sound thrashing on the men before escorting them to the police station.

Stabroek News was unable to find out whether the chain had been recovered. Roaming bandits, street children and a usually dirty city environment have been cited as major hindrances to the country's tourism drive.

Meanwhile, Mc Grath said the Guyana's leg of the trip was a satisfying experience to most of the tourists. On Tuesday evening the visitors were entertained with a cultural presentation onboard the ship by local Soca artistes, the National Dance Company and other performers. He said the show was well received. The visitors yesterday went to Kaieteur Falls, Baganara Island Resort, Shanklands and Arrow Point.

Mc Grath said the majority of the tourists went on guided city tours, while some went alone. "All of them are very happy and very impressed with the visit here."

He said the same ship was in Guyana in 2004 and it was the hospitality and fun that saw its return.

According to Mc Grath, lots of hard work was put into organizing the Guyana leg. He noted that Tourism Minister, Manzoor Nadir and the Guyana Police Force along with other agencies worked tirelessly to see things went off well.

"I am satisfied with what took place and it augurs well for this country. If all of those people can go back and share their experiences with others then Guyana would be well promoted," Mc Grath remarked. He said Guyana had every reason to be proud. The ship departed around 4:30 yesterday afternoon for Belem, Brazil, then to Suriname before returning to Barbados where the cruise began.