BNS Investigation: This faction is charging tolls for 'safety'
AMAZON -- The Raiders have decided that anyone passing under their drawbridge should pay a service fee.
The toll point sits just north of Turtle Beach, and the faction has constructed nets that can be raised or lowered to stop any boats that try to pass without paying the toll. There’s a second net that comes up behind boats, which appears to be there to stop toll skippers from retreating.
According to several sources, the group charges a relatively modest 10 coins or a chicken.
According to Syd Straaf, a member of the Raiders, the toll point was set up for “everyone’s safety.”
“You know, since we're the jungle’s only official license and permit agency, it's our responsibility to make sure travelers are taken care of,” he explained.
Straaf added that Raiders have no leader or any real organization, and the drawbridge is owned by all the Raiders and not just him.
Sources also tell Bolero News Services that, in the course of collecting the tolls, the Raiders conduct themselves with courtesy and professionalism.
“They're very polite about the whole thing, which is weird,” said one man who was charged a toll and did not want to give his name. “Even going so far as to say 'thank you for doing business with us' and 'have a great day.’"
Eve Fintan, co-owner of the Catadore Resort, said the fee was justified when considering the Raiders were constructing valuable infrastructure.
"It’s 10 coins. Not a lot, and I'd say its fair and polite and responsible and civilized to pay since they are building bridges and doing other good things for the community,” she explained.
While one group posted a sign protesting the tolls, most of the people BNS spoke with expressed little or no disapproval of the Raider’s actions.
The Raiders have had other ventures in the Amazon, such as an oil production facility that solicited violent protests by ecoterrorists and other radicals who want everyone to stay poor.
-Gaul Gaussman contributed to this report
Comments
Post a Comment