Deonarine Sohan and his wife Sandra Naipaul stand in front of their flattened house yesterday.

A family of four left their Haswell, Port Mourant, Berbice home on Friday last to celebrate the wedding of a relative but when they returned early yesterday morning they found it reduced to ashes. A man has since been held and is assisting the police with their investigations.

Deonarine Sohan, 36, a former Guysuco worker and a minibus conductor; his wife Sandra Naipaul, 23 and their two children Naresh and Parvina, aged one year and four months old are now homeless and they have lost all their worldly possessions except for the clothes they took to spend the weekend at their relatives.

Neighbours told Stabroek News that the fire started around 2.15 am yesterday and a call was immediately placed to the Number 68 Village home where they were staying informing them of the tragedy. However, by the time they arrived on the scene the two-storey one-bedroom building was already gutted.

Sohan and Naipaul said they suspected that a man with whom Naipaul has had an ongoing problem, the most recent episode being last week Thursday, might be involved. The man has been taken into police custody. They said when relatives approached the man to ask him if he had anything to do with the fire he became abusive and when the police arrested him he remarked "It done bun aready."

One neighbour said he was awakened by the fire and turned on his electrical pump but no water was coming and so had to stand by helplessly and watch the house go up in flames. Two fire tenders arrived on the scene and had no access to water to help douse the blaze. A man said he informed the firemen that he had a pond in his yard, which was knee high with water but the firemen said it was too shallow and that their hoses would suck up mud.

Neighbours felt that if the firemen had access to water they would have been able to save the kitchen on the bottom flat. After a short while, the firemen left since no other house was threatened by the fire. Sohan and Naipaul are appealing for assistance as they are in dire need. Police are investigating. (Stabroek News)

The nude body of a 69-year-old Corentyne farmer was found early yesterday morning in a pool of blood in his home and a relative who lived in the same house is now in custody.

The body of Deonarine Bhansingh of Lot 24 'K' Albion Front, Corentyne, was discovered by the police after they were alerted by a neighbour who had visited the man's house to borrow a tarpaulin and saw blood dripping through the flooring.

According to reports, the house was not broken into, but the man's room was ransacked and his wardrobe door broken. Relatives said they believe robbery was the motive.

When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday scores of Bhansingh's relatives were at his home. His reputed wife was said to be in the city, where she had travelled last week to attend a funeral. Relatives told this newspaper that Bhansingh was married but his wife lives overseas. He had been living with another woman and a male relative of the woman, they said.

According to the neighbour it was about 6 am yesterday when he visited the man's house to borrow the tarpaulin and saw blood dripping through the flooring. He alerted other neighbours and the police were summoned.

The police arrived and found the man lying face down in a pool of blood, naked, except for a towel around his knees. He was in front his bathroom and had cuts to his left ear, head and left hand. The male relative of his reputed wife was not home at the time the body was found, but he was later arrested.

According to neighbours and relatives it did not appear as if anyone had broken into the house, but the man's bedroom was ransacked, his wardrobe door broken and money they knew he had in the wardrobe was missing. However, they could not say how much money Bhansingh might have had.

One neighbour said the last time she saw the man was around 5 pm on Sunday when he sold her some cow's milk. Another neighbour said that around 7 pm on Sunday she heard what she thought was bottles being broken and she became afraid and went into her house as at the time she thought it was a fight at a nearby wedding. Now, she believes that it could have been the mirror of the man's wardrobe, which was shattered. The man's nephew Vishnu Rabindradat said his uncle had been a cattle and cash crop famer.

Bhansingh's sister Bethlyn Singh, 79, who lives at Rose Hall said she got a message informing her that her brother was calling her. She enquired whether he was sick and was then given the dreaded news. She said always warned her brother to take care of himself but she never thought he would have met such a brutal death. The police are continuing their investigation. (Shabna Ullah/Stabroek News)

A girl laying a wreath during the ceremony for fallen police heroes at Eve Leary yesterday as the policeman at right adopts the mourning posture.

Benefits for relatives of ranks who die in the line of duty need to be "seriously reviewed", Acting Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene says. He was at the time speaking at the Guyana Police Force (GPF) wreath laying ceremony for fallen heroes held at Eve Leary yesterday.

The ceremony at the Monument for Fallen Heroes located in the Police Officers' Mess compound, Eve Leary saw the laying of wreaths in remembrance of the fallen ranks by Greene, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, relatives of the deceased and representatives from other police divisions and branches within the country. Wreaths were laid for Corporal James Ramsey, killed at Plantation Rose Hall, Berbice by armed strikers in 1913 right up to Special Constable, Kwesi Lawrence, who was shot and killed while on a joint services operation at Victoria, East Coast Demerara last year.

Greene, in his remarks stated that he was struck by the number of children laying wreaths, and said that senior ranks often wondered how the families of the fallen ranks made out when the breadwinner is gone. Noting that the force tried to do some things, and listing the $1M compensation per family for those killed in the line of duty and the GPF's Benevolent Fund, Greene declared that some of the money officially received from the government "do nothing" and benefits need to be renewed and reviewed.

"Those benefits need to be seriously reviewed", he asserted. He said that the occasion brought mixed feelings and while recalling some incidents such as the shooting of a traffic rank in Regent Street, stated that those ranks were killed because they were members of the force. "The force is still here", he declared, adding that they were going to maintain the fight against criminals while expressing the view that that fight was being won.

Members of the Guyana Police Force firing their guns in salute at the annual Wreath Laying Ceremony for Fallen Heroes at Eve Leary yesterday.

Rohee, meantime recalling the 2002 to 2004 period, stated that the issue of the surviving relatives of those slain was discussed in cabinet. "Government responded in a modest way â€¦to make a modest contribution", he said while noting that in recognition of the ranks' sterling contributions some had institutions named after them. He told the surviving relatives that they should not be afraid to approach the ministry or him, whenever they are in need of support, guidance or advice.

He said too that the security situation has changed for the better, but efforts must continue and the force must not rest on its laurels. He added that soon the security reform programme will come on stream and declaring that "the force needs to be prepared to take on these reforms", noted that the support of the public is also needed.

Recalling the period 2000 to 2004 during which fear and tension stalked the land, Rohee said that it was a time characterized by bitter struggle between lawlessness and disorder on one hand and law and order on the other. He declared that the police were the principal targets during the period because they were seen as the symbols of law and order. Noting that many lost their lives, he said too that "many reported sick, many went on leave, many could not be found", adding that at the end of it credit must be given to those who "stood up and fought".

He said that 2002 to 2004 was the most devastating period for the force. He declared that notwithstanding claims to the contrary, a different period had begun because the police emerged on top of the situation. He noted too that crime continues to evolve and the best tribute to the fallen ranks is to ensure law and order prevails.

Meanwhile, Greene, stating that it was difficult to be happy when remembering their fallen relations, urged relatives of the fallen ranks not to be daunted. "Seek happiness", he declared. (Stabroek News/Ken Moore photo)

Police honour their fallen comrades

Children of slain policemen lay wreaths at Eve Leary Monument

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday honoured 51 ranks who died in the line of duty at its 168th Anniversary Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Monument of Fallen Heroes, Police Officers’ Mess Compound, Eve Leary, Georgetown.

Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee, in brief remarks told the relatives of the deceased policemen that the Government of Guyana has always thought of the children and spouses they left behind.

“My office is always open to you all and you need not be bashful to seek my assistance at anytime,” he said. Minister Rohee also urged them, members of the public and the GPF, to get ready to support and be prepared for the revised security reform system which will come on stream soon. He advised ranks to let law and order remain the order of the day in remembrance of the fallen colleagues.

“Those days must never return, when ranks were mowed down by bandits …the fight must go on,” Minister Rohee explained.

The Minister said that 2002-2004 was the most difficult period for the force, when fear and tension stalked policemen and they were killed by bandits. He remarked that it was a period when people on the East Coast of Demerara and the city felt compelled to limit their movements and stay indoors. Minister Rohee pointed out that the ranks stood for the law and they were killed, at the same time some ranks were on sick leave, and others could not be found to report for duty.

Meanwhile, Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Henry Greene, who also gave brief remarks, said that the monument at Eve Leary was erected to pay tribute to those killed in the line of duty, and today the force can say it has offered a modest sum of $1M to relatives of those policemen killed on duty.

“…But most of the money came from the Benevolent Fund which was set up by Former Commissioner of Police, Mr. Laurie Lewis, and today ranks contribute to it every month,” he explained. The top cop said that yesterday’s ceremony is about symbolism for the policemen who were killed in battle.

The Acting Commissioner told teary-eyed relatives of the slain policemen that he can never forget the traffic rank who was gunned down by bandits on Regent Street, the two ranks at Rose Hall who were killed, his colleagues at Brickdam and the rank who was killed at Victoria, East Coast Demerara.

“That was a sad era, an era when bandits wanted to run this country, but we are still here to let law and order prevail,” he stressed.

Mr. Greene urged family members of the fallen policemen to keep the faith, even though they can never forget what happened to their relatives. Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Edward Wills welcomed the relatives of the slain policemen. He said that the ceremony was called to recognise 51 colleagues who were killed in the line of duty from 1913 to 2006.

The ceremony was then followed by the Last Post (two minutes silence), a 21 gun salute, the reveille, and the laying of the wreaths at the Monument for Fallen Heroes by Minister of Home Affairs, Commissioner of Police, relatives of the deceased policemen and Divisional Commanders. (Michel Outridge/Guyana Cronicle)

The body of an ex-policeman was yesterday morning discovered lying on the road a short distance from his home with a gaping wound to the forehead and it is suspected that he was the victim of a robbery.

Dead is Aubrey Laurie, 32, of Lucky Spot, Dakoura, Linden which is about four miles from West Watooka. He left the force in 2000 after 12 years of service. From all appearances Laurie fell victim to a robbery since the motorcycle he left home on was not at the scene when his body was discovered.

Reports reaching Stabroek News are that the father of four left his home on Thursday night for Bosai, the Linden Bauxite Mining Company at Mc Kenzie where he worked as a mechanic. He failed to return home the following morning and his relatives launched a search for him but found nothing.

Laurie's body was later discovered lying face down about 250 metres off the main road. When he was turned over there was a gaping wound to his head. He was apparently hit with a blunt object but it is unclear what the object was since nothing was found at the scene. When he was discovered he was fully clad. His cell phone was nearby and his safety helmet was lying in a ditch several feet away. A vehicle track was evident near the body along with foot and motorbike prints.

Stabroek News was informed that the man worked the 3-11 pm shift and then he would proceed home. If he had delays he would usually call his reputed wife Beverly Rudder to let her know he would be late. After he failed to go home, Rudder placed several calls to Laurie's cell phone but got no answer. He had left home for work on her scooter.

Someone had also reported to Laurie's relatives that he was seen on Washer Pond Road, Mc Kenzie, Linden around 11 pm on Thursday night. Laurie was described as a "strict family man" and he had no known enemies. Police are investigating. (Stabroek News)

The body of a 31-year-old fisherman was yesterday discovered hanging in his Crane, West Bank Demerara home with his hands tied at his side and it is believed that he killed himself after a domestic spat.

Leo Robinson of 552 Crane Housing Scheme was discovered just after midday yesterday hanging from a beam in his bedroom with his hands tied to his side. The police yesterday afternoon briefly questioned his wife but did not detain her and it is believed that the man committed suicide.

A neighbour told Stabroek News that Robinson's wife along with two other relatives went to the home in a car around midday. She said that the man's wife ran into her yard but stated that she was afraid to go into the house since she didn't spend the night there because they had a fight. The neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said that the relative then went into the house and reportedly called out "you ain't gat to frighten no man, the man dead".

The neighbour said that she took a peep and saw Robinson hanging from a beam with his hands tied to his side. She said that Robinson's wife then left for the police station. The police later came and after a while took the body away. This newspaper was told the couple often had fights.

Meanwhile, Robinson's sister Luchandra Robinson stated that she got the news from her mother in the North West and immediately went to the scene. She stated that Robinson had called their mother on Thursday and reportedly told her that his wife had locked him out. She said that based on this their mother called her and told her to check on him.

She said that she called him at about 10:30 am yesterday and he told her that he was fine and that he was going to visit her later. "I tell he I coming to check on him and he tell me don't come, he coming to spend a few days at my place," she stated. His brother Bryan Robinson said that the last time he had seen him was yesterday morning at about 6:30 am and they had greeted each other.

Robinson's uncle Paul Pritchard said too that he had spoken to his nephew at just around 11 am as they were supposed to be returning to sea but the man told him that he could not make it. "He seh he got problem and he can't go," Pritchard said. He said that the connection was then broken and though he tried to call him again the telephone rang out. (Stabroek News)

The city businessman who made a tape on which controversial Senior Superintendent of Police Steve Merai allegedly demanded money from him over a drug deal, has fled to neighbouring Suriname and his attorney is trying to get a statement from him, Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene disclosed.

Greene told reporters yesterday that the investigation into the allegations made against Merai, who is in charge of ministerial patrols, was ongoing. But he said the absence of the businessman who made the tape meant that the investigation was not going anywhere.

The acting commissioner said the police had made several attempts to contact the businessman who operates a motorcycle store in Georgetown. Stabroek News had also made attempts to contact the businessman, but on each occasion officials at the store have said he had left the country. Merai has admitted that the voice was his, but he said the recording was a collection of several conversations.

Greene said that efforts are being made to determine the authenticity of the tape. He would not say whether this was being done locally or overseas.

Merai was hauled off duty as the coordinator of the Impact Patrol following the allegations, but is still in charge of ministerial security patrols. Asked why the police officer was retained as coordinator of ministerial patrols, but relieved of the other responsibility, Greene said being at Impact Base meant Merai had to interface with the public and this was not good in light of the allegations.

He said the officer was also removed a few weeks before the tape surfaced since he was charged with making a wrongful arrest. That matter is before the court. Greene said being coordinator of ministerial patrols, Merai would send out patrols to make checks at the residences of ministers and they would report back to him. The former head of the disbanded Target Special Squad also called the 'Black Clothes Squad', Merai was a no-show at the police annual awards ceremony at Eve Leary yesterday.

The recording in which Merai's voice was heard demanding the money surfaced recently. In a statement several weeks ago police had acknowledged receiving a copy of the tape as well as a transcript of the taped conversation and a letter. The police statement said the letter had levelled certain allegations against Merai and an investigation into the allegations had been launched.

In the recorded conversation between the senior superintendent and the businessman, the officer said it was he who had helped drug accused Roger Khan to make it to the top of the drug world in this country. But when asked by this newspaper to explain what he meant by this statement, Merai said that he had been trying to induce the businessman to divulge further details about the drug deal he was involved with so that he could build a case against him.

The police officer also said the tape had been made by a group of drug dealers who had been angered by his tough stance against drug trafficking. He said the men had recently met and planned to kill him.

Stabroek News has confirmed that the businessman who made the recording was deported from the US in 1999 after serving time for possession of marijuana, impersonation, possession of firearms and trafficking in cocaine. The businessman was incarcerated in the Georgia Correctional Centre in the US.

According to court documents seen by this newspaper he was found with marijuana in June of 1993 and was sentenced to one year imprisonment. In 1990 he was handed a 12-month prison sentence for impersonating another man and five years for possession of firearms. Also in 1990 the businessman was charged with trafficking in no less than 200 grammes of cocaine.

Sources close to the businessman told this newspaper that ever since he had been deported from the US in 1999 after serving time for the crime, he had been engaged in business with another relative. Stabroek News had been told that in addition to the police several other persons were looking for the businessman. He currently has a matter in the High Court.

According to the recordings, the businessman had collected a delivery of cocaine from another man who resides on the West Demerara, which had been shipped by a Guyanese living in Venezuela.

The businessman having collected the narcotics had allegedly refused to pay for it and the Venezuelan man and his West Demerara accomplice had reportedly contacted Merai asking him to ensure that the businessman paid up. Merai was heard on the tape demanding US$60,000 from the businessman to settle the case.

Merai had told this newspaper when he heard about the drug deal that he approached the West Demerara man who admitted that the Georgetown businessman owed him US$710,000 for a shipment of cocaine but was hiding and not paying up. (Stabroek News)

Eight armed bandits early yesterday morning staged a well-planned robbery at B.E.V. Processors Limited at Houston, East Bank Demerara, and carted off $1.8M and an MP3 voice recorder valued at $27,000. The men reportedly reached the northern fence through a nearby cemetery then cut the fence open, tied up security guards on duty and proceeded to the administrative building where the money was kept in a safe.

However, police in a statement yesterday said investigations have so far revealed that five masked men, two of whom had firearms, entered the premises by cutting through a northern fence. The bandits tied up the four watchmen and an operator who were on duty and then broke into a workshop and took a welding set, the police press release added.

It stated too that the men who appeared to know exactly where to go for the welding set, then broke into the administration building where they used the equipment to cut their way into three safes and four canisters and took away the cash and the recorder. Police suspect that the bandits may have escaped by way of the Demerara River.

Managing accountant Tony Debidyal told reporters that he received a call early yesterday morning and was informed of the robbery. He was told that eight men, some of whom were armed, had broken into the premises and checks subsequently revealed that the safe in the administrative building which contained money was broken into and he later found out that two employees were gun-butted and tied up.

He told reporters too that the issue of security would have to be reassessed since nothing of this nature had ever occurred at the seafood processing plant. He said too that staff morale was low in the wake of yesterday's incident.

Another official of the company who requested anonymity told this newspaper that he learnt that the men made their way to the northern gate through the burial ground and seemed to know exactly where the security guards were, gathered them together and bound their hands. Two of the men then stood guard training weapons on them while the other six executed the robbery. They then confronted two freezer operators who were also on duty and who were also gun-butted and were told to remain quiet.

The official said he felt that the men may have benefited from reliable information which most likely may have come from the inside since he felt it strange that the men knew exactly where money was being kept on the premises and moreover that money was actually there in the first place. He questioned too how the men got information that they would need a certain piece of equipment to get access to the cash.

Stabroek News visited the location yesterday afternoon but there were no workers on site and a security guard there informed that many workers had left work earlier in the day since there was not much happening. (Stabroek News)

Pawnshop armed robbery

Ex-cop remanded

Mervyn Wilson

An ex-policeman, who was thought to have died following a shoot-out with the police after he and another man allegedly robbed a Vreed-en-Hoop pawnshop in May, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate's Court yesterday on two charges.

Mervyn Wilson, 24, of Thomas Lands, YMCA pleaded not guilty to the charges of robbery under arms and attempting to commit a felony and Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle remanded him to prison despite his many pleas. It is alleged that on May 16 at Vreed-en-Hoop, Wilson being armed with a gun robbed Kelvin Bishop of one cellular phone valued $8,000.

On the same day, he allegedly attempted to commit a robbery under arms on the Giddings Payday Pawnshop. Wilson's alleged accomplice in the crime has since admitted to the offence and is at present serving a seven-year sentence. A police lance corporal is also before the court for allegedly lending his police uniform to one of the accused and being involved in the robbery.

Reports are that around 8:30 am on the day in question, two men dressed in police uniforms went to the Giddings Payday Pawnshop at 54 New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop armed with handguns. The supervisor was accosted and the men demanded the keys to the business place and also robbed him of his cellular phone and then ran away.

Following reports of an attempted robbery, the police pursued the duo and there was an exchange of gunfire during which one of the bandits was reportedly shot. The bandit fell into the river. There was no further sighting of him and the police concluded that he was dead.

The other bandit who was identified as Jolyon Wong subsequently surrendered and was charged. He was placed before Magistrate Fazil Azeez at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court and sentenced to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to robbery under arms and attempting to commit a felony.

Police lance corporal David Astwood, 27, of 658 West Ruimveldt is facing three charges - robbery under arms, attempting to commit a felony and fraudulent conversion for his alleged role in the incident. He denied those allegations and is on remand. Following the incident, police were under the impression that the other bandit was dead so they stopped looking for him.

Wilson was detained after his father made a report of threatening behaviour to the police. He was later identified by a policeman as the 'dead bandit' and the police began conducting investigations. Wilson was unrepresented in court yesterday. In his address after denying the allegations he said that he is a youth organizer for the Sophia Youth and Sports Group.

The father of one said that last year he faced similar allegations which resulted in him being incarcerated for one month. He said that due to being in the Camp Street jail he had to get help from the Psychiatric Ward of the Georgetown Hospital and to date he is still receiving treatment. He said that the statement that the other bandit gave to the police did not say where his accomplice lived.

According to police prosecutor Desiree Fowler, Wilson is a former member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). "At the time of the incident he was not a serving member of the force but he was fully dressed (in uniform)," she said. She said that when the two realized that they were being cornered they opened fire and Wilson was presumed dead.

According to Fowler, last Thursday the defendant's father made a report at the Brickdam Police Station about threatening behaviour. She said that she deemed the defendant a flight risk and asked the magistrate to refuse bail.

Upon hearing the prosecutor's application, Wilson repeatedly begged the magistrate to send him on his own recognizance since he had exhausted all his funds. "I was in no way involved in any crime on that day. This is just a case of a person's name being mentioned that is similar to mine. I would like to be released so that I can prove to this court that I am innocent," he said. However the magistrate refused bail and adjourned the matter to August 17 at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate's Court. (Stabroek News)

Two suspects detained in secutity guard shooting murder

Police have detained two suspects in connection with the murder of security guard Ovid King, 26, of Lot 20 ‘YY’ North East La Penitence, Georgetown, relatives said yesterday. King was shot dead early Sunday morning when three men tried to hijack his motor car as he was leaving his workplace and relatives believe he knew his killers.

The security guard had worked the 20:00 h Saturday to 06:00h Sunday shift at Crown Mining Company on North Road, also in the city. His sister, Loretta King told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that, several times previously, he prevented break-ins Crown Mining and would order the would-be burglars to take off their clothes before sending them away.

But, on Sunday morning, three men wearing rags on their faces jumped the fence on the premises and he confronted and subdued them. He was very kind-hearted and never hurt people, even those bandits who he often sent away but they made sure he was dead,” his sibling remarked.

She said his suspected assailants are the same three men who had, hours before, scaled the fence at the complex he guarded and threatened him after he took away their clothing and thwarted their entry. King suspects her brother was on his way home and was about to enter his AT 192 car when the trio tried to hijack it and he defended himself with a cutlass he usually keeps in the vehicle.

The car he bought early this year is at Brickdam Police Station while detectives try to decipher images from a camera at his employer’s business place. (Guyana Cronicle)

Amid a resurgence of execution-style killings in the city, gunmen early yesterday morning shot dead a security guard of Crown Mining Company, located on North Road near the junction of Church and Albert streets during an apparent attempt to hijack his car.

Dead is Ovid King, 26, of East La Penitence, George-town. He sustained two gunshot wounds in the region of the heart and died on the spot. Police up to press time were still searching for the killers. Detectives have questioned several homeless persons who dwell on the Merriman Mall as well as residents around the area.

Meanwhile there are conflicting accounts as to how King actually died. According to one account of the shooting, the 26-year-old was attacked by would-be carjackers who shot him after he pulled a cutlass on them. Stabroek News was told that the carjackers confronted King at the junction of Church and Albert streets and attempted to rob him of his vehicle. He reportedly resisted the criminals and brandished a cutlass he had in his vehicle. However, before he could use it he was shot twice in his chest.

King's sister however had a different story to tell. The woman said her brother was a security guard attached to Crown Mining Company on North Road. She said he did construction work during the day and security duties at night. According to the sister, King was at the worksite on Saturday night when several bandits showed up. She said that the men attempted to break into the business place which sells expensive mining equipment. The woman said that King was in a position to see when the bandits were attempting to break into the building and he challenged them, forcing the men to flee.

The dead man's sister said that apparently the bandits did not go too far from the location since around 5:30 am yesterday when King had finished working he was confronted again by the robbers. She said that off the business premises, her brother jumped into his car which is normally parked outside of the compound. He drove along North Road turning north into Cummings Street and then east into Church Street.

King's sister said that when he arrived at the junction of Albert and Church streets the bandits suddenly appeared, surrounding his vehicle and causing him to halt. Once he stopped the vehicle, his sister said that he reportedly brandished a cutlass he had in the car and made an attempt to attack the bandits who fired two shots hitting him around the area of the heart. The bandits then ransacked the car, before leaving it with all of the doors wide open.

Stabroek News could not make contact with any official of the mining company yesterday despite repeated attempts. During a visit to the business place, the doors were tightly closed and no one was on the premises. One resident of Church Street told this newspaper that he heard loud and continuous tooting of a car horn around 5:30 yesterday morning. Other residents said the same thing, but one man said that he heard quarrelling among the persons who were at the scene. The man told Stabroek News that he heard one of King's attackers asking, "Wheh the things deh, wheh the things deh."

The dead man's relatives said that he was a hard-working man who did any work once he was being paid to do it. Police have taken into custody King's car to be dusted for fingerprints. Relatives said that it was not the first time the 26-year-old was confronted by bandits while on the job. Relatives believe that the bandits were after the expensive equipment being stored in the building. King, described as a jovial and hardworking person, leaves to mourn eight siblings and his father.

Over recent months there has been a surge in gun crimes and a number of sensational murders most of which have not been solved. Only last week Monday night an East Ruimveldt hairdresser, Iesha Byron was gunned down behind D'Urban Backlands. The body was found the next day in a clump of bush in the area. Family members said the main suspect is a relative who had picked up the woman from her home on Monday night.

He lived at the same address as the now dead woman, but went into hiding about a month before resurfacing on Monday night and inviting Byron for a walk. He took her to the bushy area where he stripped her and killed her. Police have made several searches for him but he remains elusive. Prior to Byron's murder there were several other sensational killings in and around the city. (Nigel Williams/Stabroek News)

US State Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf used the murder of businessman Davendra Persaud, who was gunned down in front of Palm Court in 2004, as an example of how drug accused Roger Khan's lawyer, Robert Simels has jeopardised the lives of those he named as potential witnesses in Khan's drug trial in the US.

In a letter written to US Judge Dora Irizarry on June 13, 2007, objecting to certain statements made by Simels at an April press conference in Guyana, the attorney said the lawyer not only violated Local Criminal Rule 23:1, which deals with the press and trial directives, but his statements also jeopardised the safety of individuals he named, and their families and friends. She pointed out that Simels went to great length to spell the names of the individuals he felt were potential witnesses in the case, but "Fortunately, the Guyanese press showed admirable restraint and did not publicise the names of the witnesses speculated by Simels."

Justice Irizarry last week issued a gag order to all counsel involved in the case adding that failure to comply with the court's order would result in a finding of contempt, the imposition of sanctions and possible referral to grievance committee.

According to the letter of complaint, while a defence lawyer may endeavour to determine what witnesses might be called against his client in order to prepare a defence, "there is no legitimate reason for Simels to broadcast to the press in Guyana the identities of people he believes to be government witnesses or co-operators, or to conduct a public smear campaign." She noted that the statements serve no purpose other than to attempt to silence, intimidate and harass the individuals - all of whom are Guyanese, and to "put them and their families and friends many of whom live in Guyana or within Guyanese communities in the United States, in danger."

The letter said the danger to Guyanese individuals perceived to be government co-operators "is all too real." It was at this point the example was given of Persaud, whom the lawyer said was a Guyanese cocaine trafficker who had resided in Queens, New York and was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in June 2003. He was released on bond and he subsequently fled and returned to Guyana.

"The government has learned from confidential sources that individuals in the Guyanese cocaine trafficking community, including the defendant, widely believed Persaud to be cooperating with the United States Government. On October 25, 2004, Pesaud was shot to death by masked gunmen as he sat in a restaurant in Georgetown, Guyana. No one has been prosecuted for this murder."

The lawyer said by Simels by "publicly discrediting, harassing, and seeking to intimidate potential witnesses ...has prejudiced the due administration of justice within the meaning of Rule 23.1." Additionally, the lawyer said Simels' reckless statements regarding the witnesses, evidence, merits of the case, and the prosecution's motives could potentially interfere with a fair trial in this matter. It noted that two of the daily newspapers put their stories on the internet and one had a printed version available on the streets of New York thus Simels' activities may reach the jury pool.

"I think that the Guyanese government and the officials here who believe that the United States might be prosecuting Roger Khan properly should be aware of the nature of the people upon whom the United States is relying in this case. All of whom are convicted drug dealers. All of whom have sought to pervade the fabric of Guyana and the fabric of the United States with their activities...," was part of Simels' statements made at the press conference quoted in the letter.

In response to Mauskopf's letter, Simels in his defence said he took issue with the government's submission adding that at no point was there an intended violation of Rule 23.1. He pointed out that when he agreed to answer questions from the local press there was "absolutely no intent to impact on a prospective jury pool in the Eastern District of New York.

The prosecutors have certainly sought to strain credulity in making that assertion, claiming that prospective members of a jury pool (for a trial which has not yet been scheduled) might somehow have accessed the internet, or even availed themselves of a local distribution of the Guyana newspapers..." He pointed that the purpose of Rule 23.1 was not, as the prosecution suggested, to prevent comment where there is no "substantial likelihood that such dissemination will interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the due administration of justice."

Khan is currently before a New York court on 18 drug trafficking charges and faces a maximum of life imprisonment if convicted. (Stabroek News)

Police incinerate 99 kilos marijuana

Police destroyed 99 kilos 45 grams of cannabis sativa (marijuana), worth $7M yesterday morning at the municipal incinerator on Princes Street, Georgetown.

The marijuana was found in several areas in Berbice and on the East Coast Demerara.

Cadet Officers dumping some
184 kilograms 852 grams of cocaine
Preparing the cocaine for dumping in the Atlantic Ocean yesterday.

Cadet Officers from the Police Narcotic Branch yesterday morning disposed of some 184 kilograms 852 grams of cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean off the mouth of the Demerara River.

The cocaine was discovered in mail packages, toothpaste, cream jars and suitcases; cocaine pallets were also discovered. Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Louis Crawford said the cocaine that was dumped worth some $16M. (Guyana Cronicle)

Four prison officers detained

Four prison officers, three women and a man, have been detained by police who are investigating a break-in at Prison Headquarters, Brickdam. The incident is believed to have occurred sometime between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, although there has been no sign of forced entry.

The Chronicle has learnt that the four in custody worked as guards at the location during the time the break-in is said to have taken place. Among the losses are computers and a monitor; and according to one source, one of the computers removed was from the office of Director of Prisons Dale Erskine. His office is on the upper flat of the three-storeyed building. (Guyana Cronicle)

A businessman and his wife of Number 61 Village, Corentyne had a rude awakening around 10:30 pm on Thursday when three masked bandits barged into their bedroom and tied them up and carted off over $1M worth in cash and jewellery.

The businessman, 47-year-old Khemraj called `Ponytail' told Stabroek News he was jerked out of his sleep when the three bandits who were armed with a gun and two cutlasses shook his shoulder and shouted, "don't keep noise. Give we all de fâ€¦â€¦ money."

The men gained entry to the house by leaning over the back landing and removing three louvre panes from the washroom window. It appeared that one of the bandits jumped in and opened the back door for his accomplices. They robbed the couple of $500,000, jewellery valued $600,000, US$200, four cellular phones worth $45,000, a cordless phone valued $19,000 and a CD player.

The occupants said after the men left they telephoned for police at the Number 51 and Springlands police stations and ranks told them they could not go as they did not have gasoline. The ranks turned up a few minutes later after a resident went for them with this vehicle.

Khemraj's wife, Dolly Desi said she heard the men cursing and demanding money and the next thing she knew they were ripping the bed sheet apart. She said the men used the sheet to blindfold them, bind their hands behind their back and gag them.

Desi said she spat the cloth out and told the men to take the money from three bags in the room and from the ledge. But they still kept ransacking the house and asking for more money and when Desi said she did not have more they threatened to kill her husband.

She then pleaded, "Ow buddy this is all we gat. Tek this and go and don't hurt anybody." Another bandit then told his accomplices "gimme she and she gon show me weh de jewellery deh." She said she then told them to "loose me and ah gon show you." The bandits then brought her out of the room, removed the cloth from her eyes and she showed them where the jewellery was kept.

They then covered her eyes again and ordered her to "gimme de gun y'all gat" but she told them they did not have any gun. Khemraj said the bandits also demanded the key to his pick-up and he told them to take it from the table. "I thought they woulda throw me in the pick-up and take me away. But they didn't bother with the key," he said.

The men then escaped through the backdoor and scaled the fence into an open lot. Residents said they saw a white wagon passing slowly around the same time and felt the bandits must have entered it. Three masked bandits also robbed Deonarine Singh, 36, a welder of Maida Farms around 7:30 pm on the same day of $21,500 in cash, jewellery and a DVD player.

According to reports Singh was standing on the eastern landing of his house when three masked bandits, armed with two long guns and a handgun stuck him. They bound him with duct tape and demanded cash and jewellery. The men then ransacked the house and re-moved the items and escaped.

Meanwhile a bandit also broke into a snackette belonging to Sheila Totaram, 48, of Number 43 Village and stole beverages as well as salted and sweet snacks worth about $30,000. She said when she woke up yesterday morning she made the discovery.

Totaram said this is the fourth time the shop was broken into and police are looking for a youth who is suspected to have committed the offence. The culprit, she said stole three small knives and cucumbers she had in an outdoor kitchen. He left the cucumber peel as well as empty snack packets behind.

The woman said residents related that they saw the youth sitting on a bench in front of her house with the knives around 1 am. He also reportedly broke into three other shops within recent times. (Shabna Ullah/Stabroek News)

A 36-year-old man, Jageshwar Dyal, yesterday afternoon slashed his wife, Shamdai Jageshwar causing her wounds before killing himself by slitting his throat following an argument at Cullen Squatting Area on the Essequibo Coast.

The 37-year-old woman was treated at the Suddie Hospital and sent away. She suffered chop wounds across the shoulder. The incident happened around 4.30 pm. The man, reports indicated, was in the habit of making threats to the woman's life and they were always quarrelling.

Police said that the woman ran into the house to avoid further attacks and later when she came out of the house she found her husband lying in the yard with his throat slit. (Stabroek News)

The nude body of a woman found in a clump of bush behind D'Urban Backlands on Tuesday morning has been identified as Iesha Byron a 26-year-old hairdresser of East Ruimveldt Front Circle.

Family members said the main suspect is a relative who had picked up the woman from her home on Monday night. He apparently took her to the bushy area where he stripped her and killed her.

Police have launched a search for the dreadlocked suspect who was seen riding away from the murder scene moments after residents heard three gunshots ring out late Monday night. Residents early the next day stumbled on the naked corpse with gunshot wounds to the stomach and forearm.

Byron's sister, Iana Byron, hostess of a television show, told Stabroek News yesterday morning outside the Lyken Funeral Parlour that she last saw her sister on Monday night at their East Ruimveldt home.

According to Iana Byron, around 9:30 that night the suspect, who she said was a relative and lived at the same house, suddenly appeared at the home after having disappeared for about a month. She said the man was seen speaking with Iesha.

Stabroek News was told that the man went into hiding after he allegedly ran away with the loot from a robbery he and two other men had committed and his accomplices were hunting him. It appears Iesha knew of the scheme.

Iana said that after speaking with the man for a while on Monday night her sister told her that she was going out and would be back shortly. Iana said her sister left in the company of the man who was pushing her bicycle while she was walking in front of him. That was the last time the talk show host saw her sister alive.

She explained that the suspect's mother had three children for one of her relatives and as such, she, Iesha and the suspect grew up together and knew each other well. She said for this reason she wasn't worried when her sister left in the man's company on Monday night. Residents said that Iesha appeared to be enjoying the company of the man. Relatives believe she was tricked by the man to go into the area.

"I was home watching the news last night [Tuesday night] when I saw my sister's body and so I called up my mother and started to enquire," Iana Byron said.

Sophia Charles, the dead woman's mother, told Stabroek News that she did not live with her daughter, but she last saw her earlier this month. Charles said she knew the suspect well since she had cared for him while he was growing up. "I have no idea why he would want to do this to her. I want to know if they had some old grievance," Charles tearfully enquired.

She described her daughter as a wonderful person who worked alongside Iana at a salon on the Bourda Market Mall. The dead woman has two children who live with their father in Linden. She leaves to mourn 14 siblings.

Residents had told this newspaper that sometime around 11 pm on Monday they saw a dreadlocked man and the woman trekking through a dam leading to 'A' Field Sophia from the D'Urban Backlands entrance. About 20 minutes elapsed and residents said they had almost forgotten that the two persons had passed by when they heard three gunshots ring out.

Soon after, the dreadlocked man, who was described as short, emerged from the bush. Residents said he picked up the bicycle which was parked next to a tree and sped off. The residents said they then made a call to the police and ranks responded but after searching for a little while in the dark they left without finding any trace of the woman.

The police also made checks for the man, residents said, but did not succeed in finding him. Early Tuesday morning residents resumed the search combing the bushes and stumbled on the woman's clothing strewn across the dam. They then found her body sprawled in a clump of bushes. There were bullet wounds on her forearm and abdomen and she appeared to have been tortured.

One resident told this newspaper that he had seen the woman earlier that night in the area and she asked him for water. He said the woman had just received the glass of water when her male companion approached, forcing her to abandon the drink. That particular part of D'Urban Backlands leads into Sophia and is lined by heavy bush and thick grass on both sides. There is no light along that stretch of road.

Stabroek News was told that despite several persons having been killed and their bodies dumped in the area it was still a place where lovers met, especially at night. During the reign of the notorious death squad, the bodies of several young men were dumped in bushes in the area.

Among the persons who were killed and dumped in that area was 18-year-old Mc Doom resident Devon Cambridge who was found on March 12 last year with his hands bound with rope behind his back and gunshot wounds to his head, neck and cheeks. In April this year, the body of Sherman Edwards, a 24-year-old man of Crown Street, Queenstown was also discovered in the area with his throat slashed and his hands tied behind his back.

The man's body was found hidden in the thick grass beside a trench by someone who was walking along the secluded road. Edwards was clad in white underpants, both of his hands were tied behind his back, his throat was slit and there were other marks of violence on his body. (Stabroek News)

Relatives finger housemate in identified nude woman killing

The nude body of a woman found at D’Urban Backlands, last Tuesday morning, has been positively identified as 24-year-old Iesha Byron, of Lot 617 Close Circle, East Ruimveldt, also in Georgetown. Identification of the mother of two was by her mother, Sophia Charles. Other family members had accompanied her to Lyken Funeral Parlour for the purpose.

Relatives have since fingered a housemate as a suspect in the killing. They said the man was closely connected to the deceased and her 12 siblings through the years and they have reason to believe he had something to do with the murder. He and the victim occupied separate rooms on the same floor of the three-storey East Ruimveldt house, they said.

Neighbours said Iesha left home with the suspect on a bicycle Monday but never returned. Charles, after viewing the corpse, said she learnt of her daughter’s death from a Tuesday night television newscast. On hearing about it, she and the others had hastened to the morgue but, as it was very late, they were advised to return yesterday morning when the worst fears were confirmed.

Charles said, based on the description and other information stated in the media report, the family suspected it might have been Iesha. An aunt has taken the dead woman’s two young daughters, Makila and Jameela, aged seven and eight, into her care. The scene at the Byrons’ house in South Ruimveldt Gardens was very emotional yesterday.

One brother, Rassai Byron, who lives in Suriname and had just arrived, was shocked beyond words and struggling to come to terms with the grim reality. A younger sister, who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle, could not hold back tears as she described her self-employed hairdresser sister as a quiet person. Police are hunting the alleged killer. (Guyana Cronicle)

appears before Magistrate Gilhuys

Accused Waterman leaves the Magistrate Court at Christianburg.

The murder accused Kevin Waterman’s entry into the docks at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court was one of caution and anticipation. The accused was in handcuffs, prompting Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys to ask why.

Gilhuys then sought to understand the reason why, when Waterman made his first appearance before Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, he asked that he not be brought before Magistrate Gilhuys, who presides at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court.

Earlier, Waterman arrived first at the court, dressed in a white shirt and black pants. He was the lone prisoner escorted in a police car which whisked him to the court, while the other prisoners were taken in a group by minibus.

Eleanor Jones’ funeral at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Yesterday, Waterman’s case was called first, and Magistrate Gilhuys told him, “I will not recuse myself from this matter in the preliminary inquiry.”

According to Magistrate Gilhuys “the person who is to decide is the Chancellor or the Chief justice who under the law can take it away from me and send it to another court.”

Waterman related an incident at a gathering celebrating Magistrate’s Gilhuys’ birthday when there was an incident. But Magistrate Gilhuys, after listening, maintained ,”as far as I am concerned, you and I never had a problem.”

He told the young accused that he can, through a Lawyer, make the necessary steps under Act 30:5 through the Chancellor or Chief Justice, to invoke his powers to take the case away from him. The matter will now be called up to start the preliminary inquiry on August 7, at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court. (Joe Chapman)

Undertakers from the Lyken Funeral Parlour removing the bullet-riddled body of the woman found behind Durban backlands yesterday morning.

The naked body of a woman, with gunshots wounds on her forearm and stomach was yesterday morning found in a clump of bush behind Durban Backlands several hours after she was escorted there by a man on Monday night. It is believed that this man shot her three times before riding away on a bicycle.

Up to last night the woman's body was lying at the Lyken Funeral Parlour still to be identified. Police said in a statement yesterday that acting on information received ranks found the nude body of the woman in the bush at Durban Backlands, Georgetown, at about 7 am.

The body bore suspected gunshot wounds to the abdomen and upper left forearm, the police statement said. According to the police the dead woman appeared to be in her mid-thirties. She is dark in complexion, slimly built and is about 5' 5".

The dead woman also has a tattoo of a rose and the word `Quassi' on her right upper forearm. One pair of stud earrings, a gold band, a wristwatch on the right hand, and a bead chain on the neck, were found on the body. Police said that the body is at the Lyken Funeral Parlour awaiting identification and a post-mortem examination.

Anyone who may have information leading to the identification of the deceased is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-1326, 226-6978, 225-8196, 226-7065, 227-2128, 225-6941, 225-2661, 226-6026 or 911.

Meanwhile, according to residents, sometime around 11 pm on Monday they saw a dreadlocked man and the woman trekking through a dam leading to 'A' Field Sophia from the D'Urban Backlands entrance. About 20 minutes elapsed and residents said that they almost forgot that two persons had gone through the back until they heard three gunshots ring out.

Soon after, the dreadlocked man who was described as short emerged from the bush. Residents said that they watched the man closely as he picked up his bicycle which was parked next to a tree and then sped off. The residents said they then made a call to the police and ranks responded but after searching for a little while in the dark they left without finding any trace of the woman.

The police also made checks for the man, residents said, but did not succeed in finding him. Early yesterday morning residents resumed the search combing the bushes and stumbled upon the woman's clothing strewn across the dam. They then found her body sprawled in a clump of bush.

There were bullet wounds on her forearm and abdomen and she appeared to have been tortured. One resident told this newspaper that he had seen the woman earlier that night in the area and she asked him for water. He said the woman had not received the glass of water when her male companion approached, forcing her to abandon the drink.

That particular part of Durban Backlands leads into Sophia and is lined by heavy bush and thick grass on both sides. There is no light along that stretch of road. Residents had complained to this newspaper earlier this year calling on the relevant authorities to look after the area.

One resident had said that the bush is always high and if residents did not take it upon themselves to cut it down it remains that way. They also stated that the road is neglected. "This place is pitch black when night comes. They only get one light at the corner but that don't do nothing" a resident declared.

Police detectives examining the body of the woman found dead in a clump of bush in Durban Backlands yesterday morning.

Stabroek News was told that despite several persons having been killed and their bodies dumped in the area it was still a place where lovers met especially at nights. One man said also that residents of Sophia sometimes use the track to get to their homes. During the reign of the notorious death squad the bodies of several young men were dumped in bushes in the area.

Among the persons who have been killed and dumped in that area is 18-year-old Mc Doom resident, Devon Cambridge who was found on March 12 last year with his hands bound with rope behind his back and gunshot wounds to his head, neck and cheeks.

In April this year, the body of Sherman Edwards, a 24-year-old man of Crown Street, Queenstown was also discovered in the area with his throat slashed and his hands tied behind his back. The man's body was found hidden in the thick grass beside a trench by someone who was walking along the secluded road. Edwards was clad in white underpants, both of his hands were tied behind his back, his throat was slit and there were several other marks of violence on his body.

Police had warned in a statement that the force was concerned about the executions and those involved when caught would face the full force of the law. No one has ever been caught. (Stabroek News)

Criminals can never win

Minister Rohee

Guyanese should be receptive to the recent increase in Police patrols and their presence in the city, according to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.

“I think it’s something to be welcomed; it gives a greater amount of assurance of security to citizens whenever they see more police presence. The reason for this is quite obvious, because of the criminal activities; and we don’t know where they will strike next,” Minister Rohee said. The law enforcement agencies have been successful in most of the stop-and -search exercises. Illegal weapons, large quantity of rounds and ammunitions have been found.

Minister Rohee said many Guyanese would want this type of approach to remain in force, for the Police Force to gain success in their fight; but he explained that persons must understand the strain the Force may face.

“Obviously these patrols are putting a strain on the Guyana Police Force. I know sometimes the Police Commissioner will bring to my attention the extent to which these strains are manifesting themselves on the resources of the Force. I think what we had during CWC (high visibility) is something we should try to maintain. The GPF will do its outmost to maintain this high visibility,” Minister Rohee asserted.

Members of the Private Sector are being urged to play a more vital role in the crime fight. “We have been appealing to them to change the way in which they conduct their business, especially where large amounts of money are involved. To increase their internal security arrangements, they must see this as an investment for themselves and their property, and it has to be an all-round fight; it cannot be the Police alone. Because stakeholders have a role to play also,” Minister Rohee said.

The Home Affairs Minister made it clear that the government and Police Force are committed to the fight against crime and to providing a safe environment for all Guyanese. In May, Minister Rohee had asked the Police Force to re-examine its crime fighting tactics to arrest the present increasing criminal activities. (Guyana Cronicle)

Soldier shot in jewellery robbery also remanded

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) solider who was shot, allegedly during the July 7 robbery of a goldsmith in Meadow Brook Drive, Georgetown, appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle yesterday.

Shawn Daniels, of Lot 161 Meadow Brook Drive, is charged with robbing Budhnarine Jaggernauth, at gunpoint, of 50 pennyweights raw gold, gold jewellery and $140,000 cash, totalling $685,000. The defendant pleaded not guilty and Defence Counsel Lance Ferreira said his main concern, at this stage, is the man’s health.

The lawyer asked the Court to consider urgently sending Daniels back to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he had been before a doctor discharged him, because the patient is still complaining of injuries to his right leg and head. Ferreira said the wound to his temple is enough to affect Daniels’ nervous system.

Defence Counsel claimed Daniels went to the jewellery shop to transact legitimate business when two other individuals proceeded to rob the place. Daniels was, however, remanded to prison until July 30.

Two other men, Delon Halley, 20, of Lot 176 Lodge Housing Scheme and Trevole Adams, of Lot 1721 South Ruimveldt, also in Georgetown, are jointly charged with the same offence and were on remand in prison, as well. Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, prosecuting, said, after they had robbed him, Jaggernauth, who is a licensed firearm holder, pursued and shot at the fleeing bandits causing Daniels to be wounded before all three were apprehended by Police. (Guyana Cronicle)

PHILIPSBURG - It’s still not clear how the Prosecutor’s Office will prove that Police Commissioner Marcel Loor has committed forgery by signing a (re-)entry permit, Loor’s lawyers Richard Gibson and K. de Vries argued on Friday. The lawyers also said that the suspicion of bribery is based on statements by only one witness.

On Friday, the Judge of Instruction decided that Loor, suspected of forgery, bribery and money laundering, will remain in pre-trial detention for a period of 60 more days. But before he took his decision, Loor’s lawyers made a strong appeal for their client’s release.

Another part of the investigation against Loor concerns the manner he obtained his assets. The lawyers said Loor neatly saved his money over the years, something he had already explained during his interrogation. Based on this, the lawyers concluded that there was no reason to suspect their client of money laundering.

According to Gibson and De Vries, there were no serious complaints against their client so there was no reason to detain Loor any longer. And even if there were serious complaints, there was still no reason to extend his imprisonment with 60 more days, the lawyers stated.

“There is no threat of Loor leaving fleeing the country. He has been living on St. Maarten with his children for years. He is a respected citizen and has a long-lasting relationship with the society,” the lawyers pointed out. They added that Loor was willing, for example, to report once a week to the police station or the prosecutor’s office. He was also willing to hand in his passport.

Furthermore, the lawyers said, Loor did not pose a threat to society, a factor that would make his pre-trial detention necessary. His being released pending his court case wouldn’t be a shock to the society either, the lawyers alleged.

Finally, the lawyers said that it was no longer necessary to keep Loor behind bars in order for investigators to find out the truth. Truly, their client has already given extensive statements to the investigators. (The Daily Herald)

US Judge Dora Irizarry on Friday upbraided Roger Khan's New York lawyer Robert Simels for remarks he made at a press conference back in April this year at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown. Friday was billed as a status hearing in the case involving the Guyanese businessman charged on 18 counts of conspiracy to import cocaine into the US.

Stabroek News was unable to make contact with Simels on Friday and not many details regarding the hearing were available up to press time that night. However, Simels admitted in an email to the media that the judge had lambasted him although he did not go into detail.

Back in April Simels was in Georgetown mobilising defence witnesses to travel to the US to testify on behalf of the drug-indicted businessman who is expected to go on trial by the end of the year. Among other things, he mentioned the names of several drug dealers who had been convicted in the US, saying that the US might be hoping to use these persons as witnesses against Khan. Stabroek News understands that the mention of the names of the drug dealers is one of the issues the US court has with the Simels' press conference. Khan is currently before a New York court on 18 drug trafficking charges and could face a maximum of life imprisonment if he is convicted.

The US Government has since provided the court with some of the evidence in the case, including wiretap recordings and a ledger containing the names of a number of drug dealers who shipped drugs to New York. Davendra Persaud, the businessman who was gunned down at Palm Court Restaurant and Bar two years ago, is one of the names on that ledger as well as several other Guyanese busted in New York for drug trafficking. Speaking to reporters at a press conference held at Le Meriden Pegasus Hotel on April 25 this year, Simels said that among other things his visit to Guyana was to clear up some misconceptions and misinformation being fed to the public with regard to Khan's case in New York.

He said then that he was extremely confident that Khan would be acquitted, noting that the discoveries so far submitted in court in no way linked Khan to drug trafficking, nor had the testimonies of persons who were before US courts charged with drug dealings connected Khan to the charges.

"We maintain that the case is politically motivated and we have been saying this since the indictment was unsealed last year," Simels, who was surrounded by several of Khan's bodyguards at the time, said. On the Guyanese witnesses, Simels mentioned the names of several to the press who are currently before US courts on drug trafficking charges. He said that many of these persons were listed as witnesses, but even in their statements they had not impugned Khan. The lawyer also said then that the US may still have people who would appear in court and accuse Khan and for this the defence team was prepared.

It was the attorney's second visit to Georgetown in a matter of months to tie up arrangements for potential defence witnesses to travel to the US. However, he stated then that while he had been able to identify some persons, many of them were afraid to come forward and give statements. Simels said he was also looking into uplifting depositions from Guyanese wanting to testify on behalf of Khan, but who may not be granted a US visa or may be afraid to travel to New York. He said those persons' testimonies would be videotaped and submitted in court at the time of the trial. (Stabroek News)

The taxi driver who was beaten and stabbed by two men on Monday night shortly after leaving his girlfriend's South Ruimveldt home, succumbed to his injuries around midnight on Thursday.

Germaine Best, 25, of Lot 60 Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara was unconscious since the incident and was a patient in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. He sustained massive head injuries and stab wounds to the abdomen during the attack.

No one has so far been held for the incident and his relatives remain baffled as to who might have carried out the attack or the reason behind it. From the reports that this newspaper received the incident may have been connected to Best's girlfriend.

Stabroek News was informed that around 9.30 pm the man was attacked and left for dead in an alleyway in Sunflower Drive, South Ruimveldt. He was rushed to the Georgetown Hospital in an unconscious state. A CT scam done on the man revealed that there was bleeding in his brain. He was also bleeding internally as a result of the stab wounds, this newspaper was told.

A doctor at the hospital after assessing Best's condition had told relatives that 95% of the patients in a similar state die and there was nothing that could be done for him. A relative had told this newspaper that the information she received was that Best dropped his girlfriend home in South Ruimveldt and went away.

Shortly after that the girlfriend got a call that he was being beaten and she ran outside. She saw Best's uncle passing and informed him about the call and he later found Best lying in an alleyway frothing. The relative said that Best who was already in an unconscious state was picked up and taken to the Georgetown Hospital.

She informed this newspaper that one of the suspects held the man's girlfriend in a choke hold and placed an ice pick to her neck before saying "you see what you did to my life." The woman had told this newspaper that from all appearances Best was dragged from the car he was in and then beaten with a golf stick before being stabbed in the abdomen. The car that Best was driving was later impounded at the East La Penitence Police Station as the police continued investigations into the incident. (Stabroek News)

A constable who allegedly shot and killed his police girlfriend at Linden was yesterday refused bail by Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle. Kevin Waterman, 20, police constable 19712 who resides at 588 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown was not required to plead to the capital offence of murder when he appeared at the Georgetown Magis-trate's Court.

It is alleged that on July 7 at Wismar, Linden he murdered Eleanor Jones. It was reported that the 28-year-old policewoman attached to E&F Division was fatally shot on Saturday night in front of a relative at her Lot 13 Silvertown, Linden home.

In a statement the police said that investigations revealed that Waterman went to the home of Jones and during a conversation an argument developed between the two. It is alleged that Constable Waterman pulled out a firearm from his waist, and discharged rounds at Jones who began running away after a struggle over the firearm.

She was hit about the body and died while receiving emergency treatment at the McKenzie Hospital. The police also said that Waterman was held after a stand-off at the Wisroc Police Outpost. Waterman told the court that he has been a member of the Guyana Police Force for three years.

He enquired from the magistrate whether the case was being transferred and if Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys would be presiding over the matter. When told that Magistrate Gilhuys was the magistrate at Linden, Waterman objected to his case going before him and listed reasons.

The case was put down after Waterman's objection but it was called again in the afternoon after advice was sought and Waterman was taken to the magistrate's chambers and the matter was still fixed for the same court. When Waterman first appeared in court he seemed calm and when the charge was being read to him he stood still.

After his second appearance and when he was being led from the court lock-ups to the police van he seemed weak and was held by two policemen who escorted him. At one point he stopped and said in a faint voice that he wanted a pen and paper but a police rank urged him to get into the van.

He then slowly made his way to the police vehicle with his head bowed. The case was transferred to the Christianburg Magis-trate's Court for July 17. (Stabroek News)

The case for the Prosecution is that the cop, who has been in the Police Force for three years, shot the woman in the neck around 23:45 h while they were involved in a lovers quarrel.

Waterman will make his next appearance at Christianburg Court, also in Linden, to where the case has been transferred, on July 17. (Guyana Cronicle)

Policeman remanded on April 11 causing death charge

A policeman has now been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, following investigations into the April 11 accident at Camp and Croal Streets, Georgetown, in which Assistant Superintendent of Police George Richard died.

The defendant, Gilbert Daniels, 36, of Lot 293 Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle yesterday. He was refused bail and remanded to prison on the allegation that he drove a motor pick-up in a manner dangerous to the public and caused the demise of the victim.

Attorney-at-law Sanjay Datadin, in a failed bail application, said Daniels is stationed at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) and was on duty, driving a Police vehicle, at the time of the mishap. Before the case was put off, to July 26, Defence Counsel said evidence will show that Richard was driving at a fast rate of speed without lights. (Guyana Cronicle)

$4.3M break-in…

Teens granted bail on armed robbery, burglary charges

Sixteen-year-old Kevin Fanfair, of Lot 101 North Melanie and Raymond Paul, 17, of Lot 136 North Melanie, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle on joint charges of robbery under arms and break and enter and larceny. The duo pleaded not guilty and, despite objection by Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, prosecuting, were granted bail in the sum of $100,000 each.

Fowler said a cellular phone and accessories, positively identified, were found in the defendants’ possession. Asked by the magistrate, the virtual complainant Singh said he would not be able to say if the teens had broken into his store as he only saw them when Police showed them to him at a station. The case will be called again on July 31. (Guyana Cronicle)

Burglar beaten by public-spirited citizens jailed

Thirty-nine-year-old Paul Robinson, of Lot 183 Quamina Street, Georgetown, was yesterday sentenced to two years imprisonment for burglary. Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle inflicted the custodial punishment on him after he pleaded guilty to break and enter and larceny.

The prisoner admitted that, on July 10, in Quamina Street, too, he broke and entered the antique store of Derek Thompson and stole a compact disc (CD) player and other merchandise worth $230,000. Robinson, with bandages around his neck after a beating he suffered, told the Magistrate he was in the wrong place at the wrong time but did not want to waste the Court’s time.

Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, prosecuting, said the virtual complainant secured his premises about 23:00 h and left for his residence. However, about 04:30 h the following morning, he received a telephone call and, on going to the business place, found a glass door broken and public-spirited citizens holding the burglar with a bag containing the booty. (Guyana Cronicle)

Hostile murder case witness on perjury charge

Nineteen-year-old Malcolm Browne, of Lot 17 Belmont, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, appeared before Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle on a perjury charge. It was a consequence of the defendant being deemed a hostile witness at the trial of his cousin, Calvin Browne, who was recently freed at the Demerara Assizes.

Particulars of the offence said Browne, being a witness in a matter of the State versus Calvin Browne for murder, knowingly and falsely swore that the evidence he gave before the magistrate at the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charge was untrue.

Defence Counsel Hukumchand said the situation developed out of circumstances which will be better explained at the trial. Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, objecting to bail for Browne, said, based on the testimony he gave, his cousin was acquitted of the capital offence. However, the Magistrate put the defendant on $85,000 bail until July 30. (Guyana Cronicle)

A 25-year-old taxi driver is clinging to life in hospital after being beaten and stabbed by two men on Monday night minutes after he had left his girlfriend's home. Germaine Best of Lot 60 Graham Street, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara is unconscious in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. He sustained injuries to his head and stab wounds to his abdomen.

Police have so far been unable to arrest anyone in connection with the incident and the injured man's car is at present at the La Penitence Police Station as investigations continue. From the reports this newspaper received the incident may have been connected to the injured man's girlfriend.

Stabroek News was informed that around 9.30 pm the man was attacked and left for dead in an alleyway in Sunflower Drive, South Ruimveldt. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital in an unconscious state. A CT scan done on him revealed that there was bleeding in his brain. He is also bleeding internally as a result of the stab wounds, this newspaper was told.

A relative told Stabroek News yesterday that the information she received is that Best dropped his girlfriend home in South Ruimveldt and went away. "Shortly after that she (the girlfriend) got a call that he was being beaten and she ran back outside. Same time she saw his uncle passing and she tell him what happened and he went and saw him lying in an alleyway frothing from his mouth," the woman stated.

The relative said that Best who was already in an unconscious state was picked up and taken to the hospital. She informed this newspaper that one of the suspects held the man's girlfriend in a choke hold and placed an ice pick to her neck before saying "you see what you did to my life."

The woman said Best was apparently dragged from the car and then beaten with a golf stick before being stabbed in the abdomen. She said that she received a call from another relative shortly after the incident and went directly to the hospital. When she arrived she said he was being given saline and oxygen. She stated that blood was coming from a small wound on his head.

Meanwhile the man's relatives remain hopeful that he will recover from his injuries. (Zoisa Fraser/Stabroek News)

Corentyne man dies in Police custody

A detained man collapsed and died while in custody at the Number 62 Police Impact Base, Corentyne, Berbice, on Monday night, police said. Ally Shad, 56, of Number 65 Village, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Skeldon Hospital, also at Corentyne.

Police said he was arrested about 21:00h, following a complaint of threatening behaviour made against him and was put to sit on a bench while ranks continued their investigations. He was still sitting there when he succumbed and Police are awaiting a post mortem examination to determine the cause of his death. (Guyana Cronicle)

Man detained with unlicensed gun

Police responding to a report of disorderly behaviour at Stadium View Restaurant and Bar, Providence, East Bank Demerara, arrested a man with an unlicensed gun on Monday night.

It happened about 21:30h when a search of the suspect yielded a .45 pistol with nine matching bullets, for which he was in possession without licences. He is in custody pending charges, Police said. (Guyana Cronicle)

COP KILLS POLICEWOMAN LOVER CAUSES ARGUMENT....

A twenty-two year cop is now in police custody after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend, policewoman constable Eleanor Jones, following a cell phone call or text message she received in his presence. The shooting to death of the policewoman ended a six month old relationship with the policemen which began in February between the Wismar woman and the man who originally came from East Ruimveldt in Georgetown.

Dead is woman constable and 28-year-old mother of one, Eleanor Jones, who was shot in the neck. It all happened around 23.45h Saturday when the woman was engaged in an argument with her lover. Hours earlier they had come off working the day shift. He however was armed with a service revolver when he approached that night at her at her parents’ home whereshe lived with her eight year old daughter Hannalynn.

Elaine Jones, mother of the dead policewoman said Eleanor, the youngest of her eight children was thinking about going to a cocktail party at a school in Linden that evening, but had decided against the idea after the unusual winds and rain had caused blackouts in the neighbourhood.

But later, when power was restored the policewoman received a call on her cell phone apparently in the presence of her jealous boyfriend. The mother said there was an exchange between the two and a tussle ensued. The sobbing mother noted “it happened after they had a little row; and like somebody called (or text Eleanor) and she said Mommy! Mommy! come talk to (naming the boyfriend) .......Then I came out and asked what is wrong with you’ all. Behave yuh all self .

The mother said she left to go inside to take a bath and when she returned the two were still arguing outside near to the gate and the next thing she heard was a gunshot. According to the mother, her daughter then got confused as “instead of she run to the house she run towards the road “and it was on the road he pumped about three shots in her.” The policeman then moved off in the northern direction fired two more shots and ran away.

This newspapers understands that the cop then returned to the Wisrock Outpost where he held the Sergeant hostage with the revolver.Later other ranks arrived and soon the policeman was arrested. She said the police arrived shortly after and she was taken to the Mackenzie Hospital, where she was told, “they got her in the room. Nothing wrong with her right now. They trying to put saline in her So I sat down and they said don’t cry. Don’t cry.”

She said she taken back home and then later heard that her daughter had died.The police are continuing their investigations into the incident which has shocked close relatives and friends in the neighbourhood. (Joe Chapman/Guyana Cronicle)

Officers of the Guyana Police Force during its route march yesterday as part of its activities to mark its 168th anniversary.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) held its traditional route march around Georgetown yesterday morning as part of its activities to mark its 168th anniversary.

An early morning downpour did not hinder this year’s parade and its longer than usual route.

The GPF commenced its anniversary celebrations last Sunday with a Church Service at the Tactical Service Unit Square, Eve Leary.

Yesterday’s parade moved off Eve Leary, and then around the city, with Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee taking the first salute outside the Ministry of the Home Affairs on Brickdam.

Acting Commissioner of Police Henry Greene took the second salute before he addressed the gathering at Eve Leary. Greene said that the Church Service was a traditional ceremony as the Force ushered in another year of toil, endurance and control of crime and traffic lawlessness.

He said the route parade has been part of the ceremonial landscape for years and he complimented the men and women for their turnout, dress and deportment at yesterday’s march. He said that the Rio Summit and Cricket World Cup 2007 had allowed the Force significant operational experiences through which it could only record gains and not losses.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee takes the salute outside the Home Affairs Ministry on Brickdam.

He noted that “despite all our efforts, we continue to see criminal elements craft their activities to elude the minds of innocent victims and plunder their hard earned property”.

“… the bandits appear to have carved niches in several organisations, penetrating every area of operation and skilfully robbing them”, he said. He remarked that the very operation of the bandits suggests that they are served with information in relation to their victims’ modus operandi.

He urged the law enforcement officers not to allow these activities to fester and hinder the work of the Force. “We must not give them an inch…. we must be more determined than those who make other people’s lives miserable”, the Commissioner encouraged.

He said that the Force needs to be receptive to the concerns of the public and regain the public confidence, creating a level play field where everyone is treated equally. He called on all Guyanese to join in hands and hearts with the Force to fight the monster of criminal activities that beset our communities. “Let us work together to overcome all fear of crime and lawlessness,” he appealed.

Greene urged the Force to re-dedicate itself to its profession and to fulfil its motto of ‘service and protection’ and not to lose sight of its mission. A series of activities will be held to mark the Force’s anniversary month (July) including a Memorial Service for fallen heroes, and Awards and Medal Presentation Ceremonies.

This year three new awards-- the Efficiency Medal, Tactical Medal and the Commissioner’s Special Medal-- will be introduced. In awards for the yesterday’s parade, the Tactical Service Unit captured the award for the best overall unit and also the best male unit, and the best female unit award went to Headquarters. A special prize was given to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) plain clothes unit. (Guyana Cronicle)

Shirley Carreiro points to the small goldsmith shop where the Jaggernauths operate their business.

Relative of the victims, Shirley Carreiro, 59, told the Guyana Chronicle that about 12:30 pm she was inside her house when she heard her son-in-law’s brother, Rohan Jaggernauth, screaming.

She went to the door and saw two men, one with a gun, holding Jaggernauth on the ground. “They saw me and I immediately slammed the door shut to save myself,” she said. Carreiro said she came out of the house when the police arrived, and she learnt one of the bandits, a member of the Guyana Defence Force, was shot in the temple by Jaggernauth, a licensed firearm holder.

The woman said that Jaggernauth was beaten in the head by the soldier bandit who demanded jewels. As they were leaving with their booty, Jaggernauth hid behind a tree and fired at them and they fired back. A bullet hit one of them on the bridge during the exchange of gunfire.

The police managed to apprehend the two who had attacked Jaggernauth, and an accomplice who was acting as a lookout on the street. Jaggernauth was treated at the hospital and sent home. The bandit who was shot is under guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The Guyana Defence Force yesterday afternoon visited the scene after the robbery and conducted an independent investigation. Later in the afternoon, a press statement from the Guyana Defence Force said that Private Shawn Daniels was involved in the robbery and was under guard at the hospital after being shot.

The release said that his accomplices were Delon Halley of Lodge Housing Scheme and Travolla Adams of South Ruimveldt Gardens. (Guyana Cronicle)

Merai relieved of responsibility of city patrols

The senior police officer involved in the tape recording affair allegedly demanding money from a businessman for a narcotic shipment has been relieved of his duties as co-ordinator of patrols around Georgetown.

Acting Commissioner of Police Henry Green, speaking to the media yesterday, said that Steve Merai has been relieved of responsibility of patrols in the city while investigations are ongoing to determine the authenticity of the tape.

Merai was once at the helm of the Target Special Squad, also called the ‘Black Clothes Squad’. It is alleged that the businessman, who operates in Georgetown, made audio and video recordings of Merai during a meeting in May. (Guyana Cronicle)

PHILIPSBURG - The summary proceedings into the request to transfer arrested police commissioner Marcel Loor from Pointe Blanche prison to Curaçao have ended and the Judge has ruled that Loor may stay in Pointe Blanche until the sick bay is needed.

Loor, who was detained at his St. John’s Estate home on June 19 by Federal Detectives on charges of committing fraud and accepting bribes, is currently being accommodated in the sick bay, which is a section of Pointe Blanche prison where four beds are available for persons who are injured or ill while detained.

Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein confirmed the court’s decision Tuesday and said that if, for some reason, it would be necessary to put other persons in the beds, Loor would have to be transferred to Bon Futuro Prison in Curaçao.

Plans had already been made for Loor’s transfer two days after his arrest, but that was stopped when his attorney Richard Gibson Jr. filed an injunction to have the process stopped. In the plea to the Judge of Instruction, Gibson explained that Loor should remain here on St. Maarten where he would have constant access to legal council. He also explained that the possibility of Loor receiving regular visits from his wife would be interrupted if he were sent to Curaçao.

The Judge had initially indicated that for the first 26 days of Loor’s pre-trial detention, he would be allowed to stay at Pointe Blanche prison, but, again, his attorney challenged that decision, requesting that the Prosecutor’s Office not be allowed to send Loor to Curaçao. The 26 days ends this week and Loor would again have to appear before the Judge of Instruction to see whether he will be given a 60-day extension of his pre-trial detention.

The Prosecutor’s Office has 118 days to keep him detained legally before putting him on trial in the Court of First Instance. Meanwhile, Stein said the investigation was progressing smoothly and that while there are allegations that Loor had owned several properties locally, “We are not going to comment on that at the moment.” (The Daily Herald)

A senior police officer embroiled in a scandal over allegedly demanding money from a businessman for a narcotic shipment said the claims were false and that the tape recordings were done by drug dealers who had planned at a recent meeting to kill him.

Senior Superintendent Steve Merai told this newspaper yesterday that Acting Commissioner of Police Henry Greene was aware of the allegations and that a copy of the tape had been handed to him. An internal investigation has been launched into the allegations, which, according to Merai, were part of a conspiracy to discredit him as a senior police officer.

No stranger to controversy, Merai was once at the helm of the notorious Target Special Squad also called the 'Black Clothes Squad', which had been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings. Not denying that the voice on the tape was his, Merai told Stabroek News that huge chunks of the conversations he had with the person who did the recordings had been sliced out, making it appear as if he were acting as an enforcer on behalf of a drug dealer.

The businessman, who operates a business in Georgetown apparently made audio and video recordings of Merai during a meeting they had in the vicinity of Le Meredien Pegasus Hotel back in May.

In the tape recordings, the officer was heard discussing a narcotics deal he appeared to have knowledge of and wanted to benefit financially from. However, he said yesterday that he was merely doing undercover work for external law enforcement agencies and wanted to get to the bottom of the deal. He said he was merely trying to build a case against the person who did the recordings, which was why it would appear that he was involved in the deal. "I had to pretend as if I knew what was going on because I wanted to get information so that I can build a case," the officer said.

Asked whether the Guyana Police Force or the external agency knew about this operation, Merai said no, but stressed that he had been building a case to take to the external agency and later to the police force. Stabroek News has obtained a transcript of the conversations between the officer and the businessman. It is not clear whether the tape has been edited to change the nature of the transactions. Merai's voice was heard on the recording saying. "Right the Big Man ...thing call up and I get a call and the man say, look man, see if you could help dis banna out hey. Dey try everybody and deh can't find you.

"I say I know dis boy. I say aright man I gun try. I gun see if I can locate this man and hear the other man side of the story and hear wah going on right. But dey feel like that well ok this thing deliver to you, you tek deh thing. Deh say is seven hundred and ten thousand [US$710,000] you ain't gee dem no money and dey ain't get nothing."

Merai said he learnt there was a problem between drug dealers on the streets and decided to get to the bottom of it in order to break up the drug ring. He said he first approached a West Demerara man who admitted that the Georgetown businessman owed him US$710,000 for a shipment of cocaine but was hiding and not paying up.

Merai said he doubted the West Demerara man at first, as he knew the Georgetown businessman to be a clean person. However, the police officer said, he approached the businessman and put the allegations to him, which the man denied. However, he said a few minutes later the businessman offered him US$50,000 as a first payment, but he (Merai) asked him why not US$60,000. On the tape, Merai is heard demanding US$60,000 from the businessman.

The businessman: "Tell me wah you want. I don't know wah you want. Wah you want? Wah you want? Wah you want? Wah you want?"
Merai: "You gah tell me "
The businessman: "Wah you want?"
Merai: "You tell me. You tell me."
The businessman: "Wah you want ? Fifty? Sixty? Wah you want? Wah you want? Tek a fifty and we we aright."
Merai: "Fifty wah?"
The businessman: "Grand US."
Merai: "Wah? Leh me, leh me tell you the truth bass dem man offering dem manâ¦"
The businessman: "Dem man ain't gat dem kind ah money fuh offer you boss."
Merai: "But hear wah dem man tell me... tek the two ten."
The businessman: "No. How dey gun geh duh? How we guh geh duh? But how we gun geh duh? How we gun geh duh? How we gun geh duh now?"
Merai: "Hear man. Slow down lil. Leh we slow down, slow down with the cash part."
The businessman: "So wha wha mo yuh want?"
Merai: "You gee me a figure add on he ing thing and leh we tek he thing."
The businessman: "Man ah tell I ain't got duh I got to go over there and get the money ah got to go over and fight fuh the money dread ah gat to go over there and war for the money. Oh. I could start you off at the sixty. Tek the sixty man and me and you gun see me you must see me."
Merai: "Wha you de giving he?"
The businessman: "Me ain't know I say I would ah try fuh get something fuh he when I go over deh. I gah go over deh. I gah go over deh this weekend."
Merai: "Well hee¦ when the sixty coming?"
The businessman: "I gun give you. I gun try fuh get it to you before I leave hey. Before I leave hey you gun get it. If I tell you ah gun gah thing you know gah honour me word."
Merai: "No the sixty is between now and wha you say by tomorrow?"
The businessman: "Yeah. Friday. Friday. Gee me Friday right?"

"The way they did the tape they made it appear as if I was demanding this money as payment but I was just trying to carry up the figure so as to gauge the worth of the drug deal," Merai said.

The "Big Man" referred to above was said to be a Guyanese drug dealer who now lives in Venezuela. Merai said he never met this drug dealer who had fled this country after allegedly gunning down the brother of a prominent businessman a few years ago. "I don't know the man I saw a picture of him when he was wanted â€¦ but I have never met him and I never spoke to him," Merai said.

The police officer said he became a target for drug dealers because of his aggressive posture against them. He said the police have conducted a number of raids and have been setting up roadblocks frequently, which has angered some of the pushers.

Merai told this newspaper that recently some four known drug dealers held a meeting where they agreed that he was harassing them and must be killed. He said one of them had telephoned him inviting him to a meeting, but he refused to meet the man at a venue of his choosing. Merai said the dealer also refused to meet with him on the police base. The officer said he was told that the drug dealer sought to hire notorious wanted man, Rondell 'Fineman' Rawlins to kill him, but the fugitive reportedly refused saying that Merai was not troubling him and was not going into Buxton.

The police officer said he believed that having failed in that undertaking, the dealers decided to release the tape implicating him in demanding money for a drug deal. "But I will ease off these guys because they are dangerous and I don't want to get into trouble," Senior Superintendent Merai said. He told Stabroek News that he had informed his superiors about the alleged threats on his life.

Asked about businessman on the tape, Merai said he had known him for several years. He said the businessman, as far as he knew, was a deportee from the US and was married to a lawyer whose father was a prominent attorney with links to a political party.

Questioned about being taped by the man, Merai said he had trusted the man to the extent that he never thought he would have done such a thing. "Anybody could get tape because people can have their device hooked up on them and you don't know," Merai, who is now in charge of Impact Base at Brickdam, said.

He said he had decided to hold a meeting with the businessman in the vicinity of Pegasus Hotel as it was a quiet place. He said he and the man met in his car where they discussed the problems and settlement. The police officer insisted that the businessman who did the recordings was influenced by other players one of whom was mentioned in the tape.

Asked whether the problem he had heard about on the street had since been settled among the drugs dealers, Merai said he could not say, as he did not get much in terms of information to enable him to break up the ring.

According to the transcript, during video and audio surveillance, Merai was heard saying: "Hey why didn't you call me?"

The businessman: "I did twice".

Merai: "I got a call from overseas saying that you owe a man over the river fuh something you tek from he".

The businessman: "It's not like that I just recommended someone to him."

Merai: "Hold! Hold!" while dialing someone's telephone number.

Merai: "I got the man hey now. Y'all coming? I in front he house."

Apparently, the person on the phone chose not to and Merai gave the phone to the businessman and told him "Listen!"

The businessman was said to have recognized the voice as the West Demerara man, whose name is mentioned.

The businessman: "I don't have the money. Let me come and see you."

After a while, he returned the phone to Merai who says: "Me and you could work this thing out boss man," and leaves. The businessman, according to reports, then complained to a relative who is a senior lawyer and who advised the businessman to hire a lawyer and make a formal complaint at Eve Leary.

It was only last year that tape recordings purportedly between retired police commissioner Winston Felix and several other individuals made waves in the country. Felix had denied that the voice was his. One of the tapes was allegedly between the commissioner and PNCR executive member Basil Williams and the second was purportedly one of Felix and an employee of a political party. It was the latter, which evoked a storm of controversy as it appeared to suggest the intent to plant drugs on a theft suspect. (Stabroek News)

Police are said to be investigating allegations that a senior officer had demanded that a businessman pay him from the proceeds of a reported narcotics deal worth millions of dollars, which the officer believed the businessman knew about.

In the purported conversation, the officer was allegedly discussing a narcotics deal that he appeared to have knowledge of and wanted to benefit financially from. Stabroek News has obtained a transcript of the conversations between the officer and the businessman. It was not clear whether the tape has been edited to change the nature of the transactions. However, police sources have confirmed that the matter is being investigated.

The taped recording mentioned in passing the death of Swiss House Cambio boss Farouk Razac and indicted drug accused Roger Khan. The voice purported to be the senior officer was heard on the recording saying. "Right the Big Man ...thing call up and I get a call and the man say, look man, see if you could help dis banna out hey. Dey try everybody and deh can't find you.

"I say I know dis boy. I say aright man I gun try. I gun see if I can locate this man and hear the other man side of the story and hear wah going on right. But dey feel like that well ok this thing deliver to you, you tek deh thing. Deh say is seven hundred and ten thousand (US$710,000) you ain't gee dem no money and dey aint get nothing."

It was only last year that taped recordings purportedly between now retired police commissioner, Winston Felix and several other individuals made waves in the country. Felix had denied that the voice was his. One of the tapes was said to have been a conversation between the then commissioner and PNCR executive member Basil Williams and evoked a storm of controversy.

Police sources said that there appeared to be a narcotics related ring, which has implicated the senior police officer. The officer has reportedly told investigators that he was working on behalf of persons outside the jurisdiction in trying to topple drug rings in the country and that was why he was being targeted.

According to the transcript, during video and audio surveillance, the officer was heard saying: "Hey why didn't you call me?".

The officer: "I got a call from overseas saying that you owe a man over the river fuh something you tek from he".

The businessman: "It's not like that I just recommended someone to him." The officer: "Hold! Hold!" while dialing someone's telephone number.

The officer (passing the phone to the businessman): "Listen!" The businessman: "I don't have the money. Let me come and see you."

After a while, he returns the phone to the officer who says: "Me and you could work this thing out boss man," and leaves. The businessman according to reports then complaint to a relative who is a senior lawyer and who advised the businessman to hire a lawyer and make a formal complaint at Eve Leary. (Stabroek News)

Man’s nude body found at Montrose

The nude body of a 45-year-old man was discovered early yesterday morning clutching his cap and a hundred dollar bill on Broad Street, Montrose, East Coast Demerara.

The labourer has been identified as Zam Hussain, called Zamo, of 25 Cross Street, Vryheid’s Lust North, East Coast Demerara. Relatives said that Hussain was at home all day Saturday working on an extension on his house. And then he left home to go to the masjid for prayers. They also heard that he was at a Christian crusade in the village.

Neigbours say that later on Saturday night he was helping at a wedding next door to where he lived, and he left at about 3:00h yesterday. Reports say that the man was sexually assaulted. “He was involved in an accident in 1999 and that has left him physically challenged, and if he was attacked he would have been unable to defend himself,” relatives said.

They believe Hussain was outnumbered and killed by a group of men he was with on Saturday night. Hussain was unmarried and had no children. He is survived by his mother and five siblings. Police said they are awaiting the result of a post mortem scheduled to be performed on Wednesday. (Guyana Cronicle)