GUYANA · CRIME

The search for two missing Surinamese men has led Guyana police to the family of a US-sanctioned former officer. It also brought a tense night in his village.

The Corentyne River, which forms the border between Suriname and Guyana, winding through rainforest near Matapi in its upper reaches.

Guyana police detained the wife and a brother of Mark “Demon” Cromwell on 29 September 2026 over two missing Surinamese men. Their attempt to search his house in the village of Vigilance was blocked by residents, and a night of unrest followed.

Two Men Who Never Arrived

Siegello Lorenzo Van Dalen, 28, and Derryl Danillo Bont, 29, come from the Surinamese districts of Saramacca and Wanica. On 28 August they left home in a Toyota Vitz for Nickerie, the town on Suriname’s border with Guyana.

Police say they were last seen on 29 August, getting out of the car at Clarasluis in Nickerie. From there they planned to cross to Guyana by boat, across the Corentyne River that divides the two countries.

Suriname’s police and the Guyana Police Force issued separate missing-person bulletins on 19 September. The next day Wendell Blanhum, head of Guyana’s Criminal Investigations Department, said the men had not been seen in Guyana.

A Car Leads Police to Vigilance

The investigation then turned to Vigilance, a village on the East Coast of Demerara, east of the capital Georgetown. Police sources told the news site Demerara Waves that the men were last seen alive entering a white car.

That car, the sources said, is registered in the name of Cromwell’s wife. Police called his house “a building of prime interest” and obtained a search warrant.

On 29 September officers tried to carry out the search but were stopped by people in the village. Cromwell was not at home, the Surinamese newspaper Suriname Herald reported.

Guyana Police Force vehicles lined up in a row; officers detained two relatives of Mark Cromwell over the missing Surinamese men.

Fire on the Public Road

Later that day, residents blocked roads with burning debris, Kaieteur News reported. A lorry belonging to a road construction crew was set on fire on the Vigilance Public Road.

Suriname Herald, citing Guyanese reports, said two masked men on a motorcycle attacked the road crew in the afternoon. Several shots were then heard in the village, and it is not known who fired them.

Officers who tried to put out the fires met a hostile reaction, Kaieteur News said. The flames also threatened power poles belonging to Guyana Power and Light, the state electricity company.

Who Is ‘Demon’

Cromwell, also known as “Diamond”, is a former Guyanese policeman. On 5 June 2025 the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which runs American sanctions, listed him.

OFAC described him as a violent drug trafficker and an associate of Paul Daby Jr, who was sanctioned the same day. Senior police superintendent Himnauth Sawh was also named in that action over alleged cocaine trafficking.

None of the Guyanese named has been charged locally over those allegations, and the United States has not requested their extradition. Separately, Guyana police have sought Cromwell since 2024 over the abduction of former policeman Delon Alexander in Buxton.

A church and parsonage in Nieuw Nickerie, the Surinamese border town from which the two missing men planned to cross the Corentyne by boat.

What Police Have and Have Not Said

Police said the wife and brother remained in custody as part of the probe, Demerara Waves reported late on 29 September. The Guyana Police Force has not officially named them or said whether they are suspects or witnesses.

The police have made no public statement on the blocked search, the fires or Cromwell’s own role. No official link has been drawn between the missing men and the earlier cases against him.

The families in Suriname have now waited a month for news. Both police forces are asking anyone with information to come forward.

A Shared River, a Shared Problem

Guyana and Suriname are neighbours on the northern coast of South America. The Corentyne River separates Nickerie from the Guyanese region of Berbice, and small passenger boats cross it.

The case shows how quickly a crime on one bank becomes a matter for both states. The two police forces worked together on the bulletins, and cooperation between them is the main hope for an answer.

What It Means for Travellers and Residents

For travellers between the two countries, crossings through official border posts leave a record of who crossed and when. Such records help police trace a person’s route if something goes wrong.

For residents of the East Coast of Demerara, the unrest showed how tense the area can become around police operations. The next step to watch is whether police complete the search and give the families an account.

More: Suriname news, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the missing Surinamese men in Guyana?

They are Siegello Lorenzo Van Dalen, 28, and Derryl Danillo Bont, 29, from the districts of Saramacca and Wanica. They were last seen on 29 August 2026 in Nickerie, preparing to cross to Guyana by boat.

Who is Mark ‘Demon’ Cromwell?

He is a former Guyanese policeman, placed on a US Treasury sanctions list on 5 June 2025 over alleged drug trafficking. Guyana police have also sought him since 2024 over the abduction of a former officer.

Has anyone been charged in the case?

No charges had been announced by 30 September 2026. Police said Cromwell’s wife and brother were in custody, but they have not said whether the two are suspects.

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What is the background to Missing Surinamese Men?

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Cromwell, a former policeman, was sanctioned by the US Treasury on 5 June 2025 over alleged cocaine trafficking; he has not been charged in Guyana over those allegations (Demerara Waves).

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Sources: Suriname Herald · Kaieteur News · Demerara Waves · Demerara Waves · Stabroek News · Kaieteur News