Arms cache men to be charged?
Stabroek News
December 12, 2002
Two days after the release of five men implicated in the discovery of an arms cache in a pick-up at Good Hope, the police have still not laid charges.
Eight days ago, the army detained three men allegedly with the arms and ammunition along with computer equipment which can pinpoint the position of cellular phones.
One of the men was a policeman, who it was later said in an affidavit in support of an application for a writ of habeas corpus, was on special assignment. The three, and two others arrested later, were released on Monday by Justice Jainarayan Singh Jnr each on $500,000 bail after the police failed to charge them.
Stabroek News understands that an army major has since been taken in for questioning by the Guyana Defence Force after he reportedly approached the ranks who had intercepted the trio with a view to securing their release.
Meanwhile, a senior police source told this newspaper that the five - Sean Belfield, Shaheed Khan, Haroon Gahya, Christopher Small and Rajesh Sahadeo - are required to report daily to the authorities as further investigations are being carried out to determine what action against the men could be considered.
Last Friday, attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and Glenn Hanoman for the five applied for writs of habeas corpus before the judge, who granted bail when police failed to lay charges by 1:30 pm on Monday.
There is increasing concern among members of the public over the pace of the investigations.
Some have noted that the police have acted with speed in other matters where arms and ammunition have been involved.
A joint services release last week said Belfield, Khan and Gahya were questioned after the army ranks detained them and based on the answers given, the aforementioned vehicle was searched, revealing the arms and ammunition and a computer capable of tracking the position of cellular phones.
Police raids conducted on Thursday led to the arrest of several other people.
