The hunt lasted 14 days. On April 8, a gendarmerie helicopter landed in the heart of the Guyanese tropical forest. Six heavily armed GIGN soldiers cautiously approach a young man dressed in shorts, lying on the ground. They put the handcuffs on him and bring him back to the plane, which immediately takes off again. Aged 20 and of Brazilian nationality, he is suspected of having killed a 35-year-old policeman on March 25, who was taking part in an operation against illegal gold panning, not far from Maripasoula. He was transferred to Martinique, where he was indicted for intentional homicide in an organized gang and criminal association, and placed in pre-trial detention.
Since then, two other suspects have been arrested by the gendarmes on Tuesday.
The GIGN commander, General Ghislain Réty, told 20 minutes how this unprecedented manhunt took place. He also looks back on the missions carried out in Guyana by this unit, which has had a branch in Cayenne since 2016.
Constable Arnaud Blanc was killed while taking part in an operation against illegal gold panning. What was this mission?
That day, three members of the GIGN and five of the Guyanese armed forces of the 27th Alpine Hunters Battalion were dropped off in the middle of the forest, 5 km from the objective, with a helicopter. This is the only way to access the Dorlin site, which is 10,000 km2 in size. Their mission was then to identify logistical caches and destroy them. They came across a first carbet, a small house, where they neutralized two people. About 400 meters further, there was an exchange of gunfire near another carbet. Arnaud Blanc was hit. For the rest, an investigation is underway.
Does the GIGN often take part in this type of operation in Guyana? What are its specificities?
We participate in operations in support of the research section responsible for investigating, and in coordination with the Guyanese armed forces which are very involved in the fight against illegal gold panning. For us, this is a priority mission in Guyana because its consequences are dramatic. Gold panning leads to the destruction of the environment, biodiversity, pollution of rivers…
To make 1 kg of gold, it takes 1 kg of mercury that traffickers pour into the rivers. It is the population that is thus poisoned. There are also many minors who work on these sites, in conditions close to slavery. This attracts trigger-happy armed gangs ready to kill for 5 g of gold… It is a whole ecosystem of delinquency that gold panning generates.
How did the hunt for the suspect go? How did you find his trace in the heart of the equatorial forest?
The GIGN collaborated with several forces. At the international level, Brazil and Suriname have deployed significant means to prevent this armed gang from joining these countries, in particular by controlling the rivers. Mobile gendarmes and members of the Guyanese armed forces held strategic checkpoints on the tracks that serve as roads. The idea was to completely asphyxiate the area, to saturate it with military forces, to prevent the adversary from moving.
At the slightest information that reached us on its location, the GIGN harassed the adversary in the sector. It worked well. He was asphyxiated. There were no more logistical flows: they were short of food, could no longer move. He ended up contacting us to surrender.
How was his arrest, which was filmed by a witness?
We didn’t know if it was a trap. There are very violent and dangerous armed gangs in Guyana, ready for many things. He was cooperative and followed the protocol that had been put in place with him. There were two helicopters for this mission: a Puma was used to transport the team and drop it on the ground. The other carried a sniper ready to engage fire in case there was an ambush.
Is this mission over for the GIGN?
No, the suspect is a member of an organized gang. It is now necessary to challenge the rest of the team. The idea is to restore some serenity to the area.
What memories will Arnaud Blanc leave within the unit?
He was someone who was very committed, a great professional. He was very meticulous in the preparation of his operations, but also very jovial outside of work. He was a patriot, who always wanted to serve in the gendarmerie. He was very proud of it and gave everything for his profession. He devoted the little time he had to his family, his partner and his children.