Soldier held for alleged sale of flak jackets
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
October 11, 2002
A member of the army's 31 Special Forces Squadron has reportedly admitted to stealing and selling five bulletproof vests and it is likely that some of his colleagues could soon be embroiled in last week's arms sting.
The soldier was detained last Friday after he reported to his superiors that he had been approached by a Charlestown, Georgetown man who wanted to purchase an AK-47 assault rifle. But new evidence coming to light indicates that the rank had previously sold a quantity of flak jackets (bulletproof vests) to the same Charlestown resident.
On Sunday, the Evans Street, Charlestown resident was nabbed in a sting by members of the Guyana Defence Force Counter Intelligence Department, after a plan was put in place for the soldier to proceed with the weapon sale.
Well-placed sources told this newspaper that the rank subsequently gave a statement saying that he was previously approached for, and had sold five flak jackets (bulletproof vests). Stabroek News understands that, for some time, the army could not account for some of its protective gear.
Army spokeswoman, Colonel Christine King, told Stabroek News yesterday that the matter is under investigation. She said the army could not confirm or deny the report.
Sunday's sting came just over two months after several Coast Guard ranks were placed under close arrest following the alleged sale of two assault rifles to Mohamed Shaharuddin called `Plantain', of No. 79 Village, Corriverton and Rabindranauth Persaud, of Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown.
Since unearthing that conspiracy two months ago, the Guyana Defence Force's Intelligence Unit conducted a series of security lectures, sensitising members of the force to the dangers posed by those new threats, while reinforcing values of commitment and service.
In the major eruption of crime this year, a number of AK-47s and other heavy-duty weapons have been used by bandits. Persons have also been questioning the source of the bandits' bulletproof gear.
Meanwhile, the army has officially listed another of its ranks as being Absent Without Leave (AWOL). The AWOL soldier was one of a group detained in the Shaharuddin/Persaud arms scam. He subsequently escaped from Base Camp Ayanganna and has been on the run ever since.
Army sources yesterday told Stabroek News that "the military police have instructions to apprehend him...Apart from allegations of the theft [or attempted theft] of arms, he will be tried as a deserter and for escaping."