Allegations of cops covering up a murder case to protect a popular businessman have shone a light on the “cosiness” between law enforcement officials and rich business owners in Guyana, says Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo. The official also indicated that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has since been directed by President, Irfaan Ali to collaborate with external agencies to determine the veracity of such claims.
The VP also registered his consternation with the government getting caught in the crosshairs of a matter that could potentially expose high levels of corruption involving top law enforcement officials and powerful businessmen. He has opined that it may be time to review the protocols that foster unwanted “cosiness” between cops and businessmen.
His comments were a reaction to Detective Bascom alleging that the March 2021 murder of 42-year-old, Ricardo Fagundes, called “Paper Shorts” was swept under the carpet to protect a prominent city gold dealer, Azruddin Mohamed. Fagundes, who was closely connected to convicted drug trafficker, Roger Khan, was gunned down outside of the Palm Court. Khan later claimed that he was the intended “target”, labelling the shooting as a botched “hit”.
Detective Bascom was earlier this year removed from the case and transferred to another location. He along with several others was arrested following a $1.5M cocaine bust at Norton Street, Georgetown, a little over a week ago. He said in a video gone viral that he was undercover when the bust was made. The Detective said he was convinced that he was being “set up” because of his determination to get to the bottom of the Fagundes murder.
Bascom has refused to apologise to Mohamed even as he stares down a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Mohamed’s Enterprise.
Meanwhile, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest party within the main parliamentary Opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), has labelled Mohamed’s Enterprise as “cronies” of the government, predicting that justice will not be served.
A release from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition earlier this week said, “The criminal PPP state must defend its cronies against whom these allegations are made…The PPP will go to any length to protect its criminal cabal.”
But Jagdeo, during a press conference today, said otherwise today. The VP said, “Tamesh Jagmohan, Azruddin Mohamed and Roger Khan. Roger Khan was abroad and the two others were busy making money. They were working making money. Their concerns do not preoccupy me at night. The concerns of ordinary people and the people we looked at in their faces during her re-election campaign – people of every race, every walk of life – are the ones who drive us to work hard. The PPP will not condone any act on the part of any of those individuals I mentioned or others. People will have to face consequences for their actions, whatever their actions are. And that is where we stand.”
