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Stop posting dirty cops to interior as punishment – GGDMA official

Oct 20, 2012 News

Police officials should halt the practice of posting corrupt ranks to the interior as a form of punishment, a senior official from the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association stated yesterday.
Given the escalating price of gold, sending a dirty cop to the interior is merely giving him an opportunity to become even more corrupt, the official said.
“The police keep using the interior as a dumping ground for policemen with problems,” the source told Kaieteur News. It’s the worst place to send policemen with issues.”
The officials made the comments in the wake of the brutal murder of policemen Constables Marlon Letlow and Leadon Aaron whose bodies were found at Kato, Region Eight last Wednesday.
Reports indicate that the policemen were slain in retaliation for a robbery they had committed last Sunday.
Police have confirmed that Letlow was interdicted after being charged criminally following investigations into the robbery and murder of two gold miners at Bartica on September 05, 2010.
Constable Letlow was initially charged with “accessory after the fact” which was subsequently withdrawn and a charge of “receiving stolen property” instituted. His matter was dismissed by the court on May 15, 2012 and he was subsequently reinstated.
The GGDMA official told Kaieteur News that there were prior reports of Letlow and Aaron preying on gold miners.
“They were two regulars; they were hitting too regularly,” the source said.
“Those two may have just upped the ante (but) the robbery and harassment of miners by the security services is routine.”
He said that Brazilians were the main targets of the corrupt ranks.
The source spoke about an incident at Eteringbang, where a miner lodged a licensed firearm with the police, “and when he returned for the gun, he could not get it back.”
According to the source, some army ranks are also involved in shaking down miners. “But the one good thing about the army is that they investigate and take action.”
Some GGDMA staff members have also been implicated in similar acts.
Kaieteur News was also told that the GGDMA took disciplinary action some two months ago against a mines officer who was harassing Brazilian miners at Puruni.
“He was demanding so much gold from the Brazilians that they could not pay their tributes (to the Guyanese whose claim they were working).”
A senior police officer had expressed shock that Letlow was sent to a remote location with little or no supervision.
According to the officer, in a case like Letlow’s, the best practice is that the rank be placed under strict supervision to monitor his actions.
This newspaper was reliably informed that the current subordinate officer at the Kato Police Outpost, under whom Letlow and Aaron worked, was previously a Sergeant who was busted all the way down to Constable for disciplinary matters.
It was only after a number of years that he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

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