TOP STORIES OF 2004
Kaieteur News
January 1, 2005
Record drug busts
For quite a while, Guyana has been considered a major transshipment point for Columbian cocaine bound for North America and Europe .
This was more evident in 2004 as drug enforcement agencies in those continents upped the ante against drug smuggling originating from Guyana .
The campaign began on February 25 with the arrest of 15 Guyanese following a drug bust at the JFK International Airport , in New York .
According to reports, Federal officials made some arrests at the airport after they had been monitoring the movement of drugs out of Guyana .
The following day popular former local racing cyclist, Paul Cho-Wee-Nam, was held with 155 kilograms of cocaine in Baltimore , Maryland . His arrest led to the arrest of 13 others in New York .
Following these arrests and the tightening of security at the JFK, cocaine traffickers were forced to invent strange ways of getting the drug to its destination.
Some smuggled it in traditional Guyanese food such as egg balls and phoulourie. Most of these were intercepted.
Then there was the case of two Jamaicans, one of whom died on a flight en route to the USA after ingesting cocaine. His colleague died a few days later after he too tried the same thing. He died in Guyana .
There were reports that his colleagues attempted to steal the body from the mortuary to recover the swallowed drug.
And while drug enforcers upped the ante overseas, local agents from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit busted a shipment of 50 kilos of cocaine which was concealed in a quantity of frozen fish.
Several persons were held and are before the court for that incident.
Surveillance was intensified at the local airport.
On May 30 a passenger en route to a Caribbean destination fled leaving behind a cocaine-lined suitcase at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport .
Also in May, drug enforcement officers in London busted a shipment of 120 kilograms of cocaine concealed in lumber shipped from Guyana . They arrested seven people in connection with the importation of the drug with an estimated value of $1.9 billion.
In July, American drug agents sought the extradition of three Guyanese, one of whom was a local basketball executive.
However, extradition proceedings were stalled since the suspects have not been located.
Also in July, drug agents in the Netherlands intercepted a shipment of cocaine in several steel drums of molasses. The molasses were found to have left Guyana in April.
GUYSUCO, the local producer of molasses denied that they made the shipment. An Englishman was been detained in connection with the bust.
On the local scene, in August three Jamaicans were held when police raided a ganja farm on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway , which is one of the major marijuana producing areas in Guyana .
In the mid part of this year, US authorities detained the reputed wife of a top police officer after she was found in possession of cocaine on a visit to that country. The woman is still in custody.
US drug agents busted a local airport official with cocaine late last year. This was after the detention of a top local army official in Miami , following the detection of cocaine in luggage bearing his name.
And then in December Guyana was once again in the news with yet another major drug bust in London .
On this occasion, a huge quantity of cocaine was found concealed in a shipment of coconuts originating from Guyana .
George Bacchus executed
On June 24 last, the life of self-confessed informant George Bacchus came to a sudden end, when he was gunned down at his Princes Street home.
Bacchus, 50, called ‘Bombaley' was shot while sleeping in a bedroom on the second flat of the Lot 76 Princes Street, Lodge, the property where his elder brother, Shafeek Bacchus, was himself slain last January.
George Bacchus was shot under the left eye, under the right armpit and in the right leg. At the time of his killing, police who did not find a murder weapon had believed that he might have been killed with a .38 handgun since they had retrieved a .38 bullet at the scene.
The police also took possession of Bacchus's cellular phone and the blood soaked mattress on which his body was found.
At that time, police had said there appeared to be no sign of forced entry into the property.
Other occupants said that none of the seven dogs that the family kept barked to indicate that an intruder was present.
A relative had said that when he ran up the stairs after the shooting, Bacchus's door was opened.
The front door to the second flat where Bacchus had lived was reportedly also opened, as well as a window by the stairs. Everyone in the house at the time reportedly said that they did not see anyone fleeing from the home.
As a result, police detained two policemen who were reportedly fingered in the killing and four of the dead man's close associates.
Bacchus's nephew had alleged that a few days prior to his uncle's killing, he was picked up by four policemen and was questioned about his uncle's movements.
At the time, the police were working on a number of theories, including the possibility that the informant was slain, following a prolonged dispute with persons close to him.
Detectives reportedly had information that Bacchus had an altercation about a week prior to his death with a Princes Street resident, who had worked at his brother's home. Two days after Bacchus's death, two more cops were taken into custody, as investigators looked at allegations of a death squad.
The allegations were made in a detailed affidavit, which was sworn to by Bacchus before he was killed.
Exactly one week after Bacchus was murdered, a former handyman at the family's home, Delon Reynolds, confessed to the killing of the self-confessed informant.
He directed the detectives to a sheep pen at the back of the property where he dug up a .38 revolver that had been buried in sheep dung.
He then alleged that the wife of a city businessman and her nephew had promised him $200,000 to carry out the execution.
The following day, co-owner of Ashton Funeral Home, Deborah Douglas, was taken into custody based on Reynolds' allegations.
She, Reynolds and her nephew, Fabian Jessop, were jointly charged with Bacchus's murder.
However, because police could not have found Douglas 's nephew, Fabian Jessop, Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen issued an arrest warrant for him.
His lawyer Attorney-at-Law Vic Puran later took him to the police a few days later.
The Preliminary Inquiry is currently on going.
Kaieteur News 10 th Anniversary…
“We need more Glenn Lalls” – President Jagdeo
On May 1, Kaieteur News with much pomp and ceremony celebrated its 10 th anniversary. On that occasion staffers were joined by President Bharrat Jagdeo, Harold Hoyte, Publisher of the Barbados Nation newspaper, members of the government, the opposition and respected members of civil society.
The president in addressing the gathering at the dinner at the Georgetown Club declared, “We need more Glenn Lalls.”
He also assured that his government will defend the right of the free press to exist and added, “but we also hope that you will defend and uphold the truth.
“There are people who try to do what you are doing but they have to persevere," the President said, speaking di rectly to Lall.
The President said he subscribed to the need for a free press in any democratic society.
He noted that it is a pow erful tool that could be used to change attitudes and build a country and urged that the right be exercised responsi bly.
He stated then that there are people in other countries who see Guyanese, without distinction of race or religion, as criminals and prostitutes.
The Publisher Mr. Glenn Lall stated that having the responsibility of a nation on one's shoulders and building a newspaper from scratch without knowing anything about the business is no easy task: “With so many fly-by-night news papers coming and going, it was one of the toughest things getting journalists to come on board.”
He said he went through many trials and tribulations before the news paper ended up where it is today.
“I feel that it is my duty and obligation to the Guyanese people at home and abroad to continue at the helm of this News paper”, Lall told the gathering, to loud cheers.
He was also full of praise for Mr. Harold Hoyte, who accepted the invitation at short notice.
Hoyte said jour nalists would be failing them selves and their countries if they fail to develop their own social conscience and there fore regard their roles as not mere receivers and distributors of selected information.
`Death Squad' Commission of Inquiry
President Bharrat Jagdeo announced the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on May 14 to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct made against Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj, a move unprecedented in the political history of Guyana .
The main opposition party PNCR had led the way in vociferously calling for Gajraj to step down as Minister and an impartial inquiry to be conducted.
The call was echoed by other opposition parties, social organisations and trade unions.
The President had originally appointed former Deputy Commissioner of Police Ivan Crandon to serve on the commission with Chairman Justice Ian Chang and former army head Norman Mc Lean.
He, however, recanted and appointed former Attorney General, Keith Massiah, after protestations by the PNCR over the choice of Crandon.
Gajraj proceeded on leave in May to facilitate the work of the commission.
The commission began hearings on September 15 and has subpoenaed about nineteen witnesses so far.
There were a number of unexplained killings which led to the call for the establishment of the commission.
Self-confessed `death squad' informant George Bacchus was the catalyst in the uproar which resulted over his disclosures following his brother's murder in January, 2003, allegedly at the hand of the gang.
At the centre of the allegations was Axel Williams who was himself gunned down in December last year in Bel Air.
It was contended that Williams led a gang who methodically killed persons who were known to be on the wrong side of the law.
Among the victims of the so-called `death squad' were vendor Rodwell Ogle who was killed by Williams on August 3, 2002.
Kwesi Williams was reportedly abducted from the seawall in full view of his friends on November 23, 2003.
He was shot dead outside the National Cultural Centre.
Trevor Mansohing of North Road was gunned down in Albouystown on November 23, 2003.
Mansohing is said to be a witness of the Kwesi Williams' murder.
Ronald Garnett was reportedly murdered on October 17, 2003, by the `death squad' whose members were using a dark blue Toyota car.
Bobby Kumar was killed on May 29, 2003, in Prashad Nagar.
He was said to have been linked to the Mash Day prison escapees.
Carlton Montague was gunned down in early May 2002 in Middle Road La Penitence by men in a white car.
Two men, including a taxi driver, were executed in a car in Atlantic Ville on November 8, 2003.
While many persons have reportedly witnessed the killings, they have been fearful to come forward.
None of the witnesses who appeared before the Commission of Inquiry did so voluntarily.
The hits have been almost non-existent since the death of Williams.
Sean Hinds, Mark Thomas and Ashton King were charged with the murder of Shafeek Bacchus, the brother of George Bacchus.
King was exonerated by the court of the charge and Thomas died mysteriously before he could appear in court.
Hinds has been committed to stand trial in the High Court.
Shafeek Bacchus was said to have been mistakenly shot instead of George Bacchus.
George Bacchus was himself killed at his home in Norton Street on June 25, 2004.
Signed, sealed and delivered…
A major achievement was accomplished and a great hurdle crossed with respect to Guyana 's successful hosting of matches in Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007. On November 11, high-ranking government and cricket board officials along with the media witnessed the signing ceremony of the Grant Agreement between the Guyana and Indian governments in the Credentials Room of the Office of the President.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Gail Teixeira, one of the key players in Guyana 's successful bid to be a host venue, described November 11 as “an auspicious day”, adding that she hoped all those who doubted the agreement to finance the construction of the ultra-modern stadium would be formalized, would take note.
Guyana will collect a total of US$25M, US$19M of which is a loan that will be repaid at a minimal interest rate of 1.75% over a period of 20 years, with an additional grace period of five years. The other US$6M will take the form of a grant.
Following up on a promise made to President Bharrat Jagdeo during his visit to India in August 2003, and again when the local Head of State returned to India in January last to confirm the deal, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Avinash Gupta on behalf of his Government, and President Jagdeo, signed the document of terms and conditions for the US$6M grant.
Minister Teixeira and Tarun Sharma, a representative from the Washington office of the Export and Import Bank of India , signed the agreement for the US$19M loan.
Teixeira explained that plans for Guyana to host World Cup matches began in late 2002, while it was decided in June of 2003 that a new venue would be built, and the task of acquiring the funds for the construction of a stadium began.
Both the Minister and President Jagdeo explained that the terms and conditions of the loan were very good and extremely favourable for Guyana .
The Head-of-State spoke of the importance of the stadium to the development of Guyana .
The stadium, which will replace the one at Bourda, will ensure subsidiary development in Guyana . It will have an international standard sporting facility and for the next 50 years, Guyana will be able to host international matches.
The President said he would be delighted if the West Indies played India in the final and, with a broad smile added, “Even with all their wonderful help I hope we beat them.”
Teixeira, who said that the World Cup 2007 is a great opportunity for Guyanese to make a giant step towards national unity, informed that the bid was won by Indian contractors. She said preparation of the 60-acre plot of land identified for the construction of the Stadium at Providence has already begun. She revealed that April 2005 is the dead line for actual construction of the Stadium to commence.
The sports minister indicated that two meetings, fixed for Barbados , are next on the agenda as World Cup preparations intensify and also disclosed that former West Indies and Guyana test cricketers Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai are special members on the Guyana World Cup Board.
Visa scam
In February, investigations by reporters attached to this newspaper uncovered what turned out to be a scam involving the granting of duty-free concessions to remigrants under the vehicles scheme.
In its news breaking report Kaieteur News noted that people involved in the processing of applications for duty-free concessions were demanding as least US$6,000 for a favourable consideration of the applicant.
An investigation into the irregularities was then launched by the Guyana Revenue Authority.
In March, President Bharrat Jagdeo received the report from the investigations and then ordered that it be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the Auditor General.
According to reports, Commissioner General Kurshid Sattaur, by way of an Act of Parliament, was responsible for the processing of applications for duty free concessions.
Prior to the Act, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held responsibility for vetting of re-migrants. The Ministry of Finance, through the Secretary to the Treasury, then granted the necessary approval. With the passage of the Act, the power of approval was removed from the Secretary to the Treasury.
However, the Commissioner General found that the Ministry of Finance continued to grant the concessions. He also found that applications for vehicles were backdated to last August as if to circumvent the September 1 st deadline.
The report submitted to the President Jagdeo dealt solely with duty free concessions granted to 86 re-migrants last August. It stated that only 31 of those satisfied all of the qualifying criteria.
A release issued to the media noted that “the report has identified a series of deliberate acts by public officers who violated criteria for the granting of duty- free concessions to remigrants”.
Suraj Persaud, Simone Hyles and Neermal Rekha of the Ministry of Finance and P.Dundas and L.Pierre , both of whom are immigration officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were named in the report as persons involved in the irregularity.
The report suggested that the implicated persons should talk to the police. Persaud and Hyles were subsequently sent home pending investigations.
Following the disclosures, President Jagdeo ordered the seizure of all vehicles granted under questionable circumstances and the cancellation of other concessions.
Some 50 vehicles were seized.
He also ordered an extension of the investigation into the granting of duty-free concessions prior to August 2003.
A few weeks later, Secretary to the Treasury Neermal Rekha who was among those fingered in the remigrant duty–free scam was sent on leave .
Reports are that although Rekha was not supposed to approve duty-free concessions unless he was presented with original documents, he signed many photocopies of applications emanating from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The GRA continued to meet with the beneficiaries of the questionable duty-free concessions on an individual basis. Reports say that most of them were cooperative.
One woman named in the scam, Beverly Patricia Wong revealed that she was duped into believing that if she paid money her application for re-migrant status and subsequent duty free concession would have been expedited.
The woman who had lived in Canada for some years decided to return home last year.
Benschop goes to trial
Attention was focused in November on the trial of treason accused Mark Benschop which began on November 15, 2004, more than two years after Benschop's imprisonment on charges for the indictable offence.
Called before Justice Winston Moore, the case was prosecuted by a special two-man team - Attorneys-at-law Sanjeev Datadin who led the case and Anil Nandlall.
Benschop's defence, a battery of lawyers, was led by Attorney-at-law Basil Williams and included Attorneys Ms. Emily Dodson, Linden Amsterdam and Mortimer Coddette.
On day one of the trial, Justice Moore laid down the rules on what he expected regarding conduct in the court from attorneys on both sides, and the general atmosphere he would tolerate during the proceedings.
Justice Moore also indicated that the Court wished to complete the matter in no more than three weeks and urged Counsel on both sides to work with that deadline in mind.
The judge's comments came in the wake of loud singing and chanting of “free Mark” from a small-sized group of Benschop supporters, who gathered outside the precincts of the court.
Police barricades manned by uniformed ranks of the Guyana Police Force were erected daily for the duration of the trial.
There was random selection of the jury and after Benschop objected to one or two of the selected jurors, it was time to get started with an eight-woman – four-man jury.
The court's first decision was to determine whether the trial should continue, as the special state prosecutors informed Justice Moore that the accused had approached the Appeal Court regarding his treason trial, and that court was addressing the issue.
Prosecutors argued that it was improper for the court at different levels (the Court of Appeal being higher) to be addressing the same matter.
In order to facilitate the continuation of the trial before Justice Moore, the defence withdrew the matter it had filed in the Court of Appeal.
Justice Moore ruled that the accused had the right to choose which course of justice he wanted to explore and was, therefore, legally entitled to dropping the Appeal Court matter.
With that obstacle removed, the matter proceeded and quickly ran into another legal glitch when the issue of disclosure of evidence arose.
This was resolved when Justice Moore ruled that the prosecution had a duty to disclose its evidence to the defence.
“Hearsay” was the next buzz-word in the trial, as the defence sought to have the court prevent the prosecution from leading some of its evidence before the jury on the grounds that it was hearsay and was, therefore, inadmissible.
The court agreed with the defence but only temporarily, as Justice Moore revisited his ruling on hearsay and partially reversed it, admitting into evidence some statements by witnesses, which the prosecution was permitted to lead before the jury.
Nine witnesses were initially due to testify and the prosecution increased this number to 13, prompting opposition from the defence.
Again the court intervened and the prosecution was permitted to call an increased number of witnesses.
With the way cleared for witnesses to be called, the Court issued an ultimatum for the State prosecutors to present its witnesses for testimony, after the prosecution failed on numerous occasions to produce them.
The witnesses were eventually presented and some were cross-examined as the defence saw fit.
As the proceedings drew close to its end, the defence made no case submissions on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case, failing to prove treason.
This submission was “thrown-out” by Justice Moore, who ruled that the case must go to the jury for a decision.
The case ended on December 9, when the jury failed on three attempts to reach a unanimous verdict.
The extent of the disagreement of the hung jury was 11 to 1, with eleven jurors being convinced of Benschop's innocence and one juror being convinced of his guilt.
New Commissioner
Another of our top stories this year was the swearing in of the new Police Commissioner Winston Felix was a welcomed relief to Guyana as well as the Guyana Police Force.
After more than 36 years of service, the country's 27th Commissioner Floyd Mc Donald bade farewell to the force on February 16. At the farewell parade at the Police Sports Club, Mc Donald handed over the baton of command to his successor.
Felix, who is the eighth Guyanese to hold the position, took the oath of office before President Bharrat Jagdeo who promised that his government would support the new Commissioner. The much anticipated changing of the guards is being greeted with much anxiety, given the position in which the force had found itself.
During that time, the setting up of the `death squad' Commission of Inquiry and the killing of the Bacchus' brothers were a prominent feature of the media.
In his brief remarks, the Commissioner had said that at the top of his priority was the reformation of the police force in order to make it a truly professional body. Since then there have been a number of promotions and zero tolerance by the top cop on corruption and indiscipline.
Commissioner Felix also vowed to restore the public's confidence in the force and thus restore the public image. He also said that his plan was to strengthen the force's investigative capabilities to deal with the backlog of unsolved crimes.
“The constitution will hold me accountable to this office…I will work to ensure that we have better quality investigators to deal with these cases…”
And work he did which saw the graduation of several detectives in a crime scene and photography course shortly after his appointment.
President Jagdeo said that he received rave reviews and glowing recommendation from the public and that it was unconscionable that Felix had to wait almost three years to be appointed. Felix was also promised increased resources to enable him to do the job.
Felix's appointment to the post as Commissioner was touted by the British as the man best suited for the job. This was recommended after Felix topped a six-week Strategic Development Programme at Scotland Yard in 2002.