Another Guyanese traveller is arrested outside Guyana

Oct 28, 2018 Features / Columnists, My Column

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As a boy, my mother always told me to be contended and not to feel envy over what someone else has. But when one is hungry it is difficult not to envy someone who always seems to have a full belly.
Then there were the houses. They were not as huge as some of today’s mansions, but they were big. Some had three bedrooms when many of us were sleeping in a house with a single bedroom and a living room that served as a bedroom at nights.
Later, many people began to put up their dream houses. They were the people who spent their productive years overseas and returned when they had amassed some money along with their pension from whatever jobs they did.
But even as this was happening, there were people around who were putting up mansions although they had no visible source of income. These people also decorated the various entertainment centres and simply lived la dolce vita—the sweet life.
I did not envy them, and with my friends I would always say that we do not know what they did to get their money. I must admit that they did a lot to help money circulate. I remember the days when there was a particular group that rode around with seeming impunity. They filled the night clubs, took control of what was sold, and literally prevented any of the other patrons from buying.
Those were the glory days. Word began to go around that drug money was in circulation. There were large houses going up and small hotels began to dot the landscape.
There were questions about the role of the tax man. It was always said that if the authorities could not catch a man on his earnings, there was always the tax investigation. This was the case of Al Capone in the United States.
During the prohibition era, he made a killing smuggling alcohol, tobacco and whatever was there to make money. The authorities did not catch him at his money-making efforts, but they got him on income tax evasion. People in Guyana thought that the same thing could have been done here.
I suppose that these days the business community is not taking too many chances with Mr. Godfrey Statia. Yet Guyana is a country known to be home to the greatest tax dodgers. When people were complaining about a slowdown in business, people in the business community said that it was simply a case of businessmen having a lot of money that they cannot get into the system.
If that is the case, the business community had a glorious chance when the Guyana Revenue Authority granted a tax break. Many took the opportunity, and, as was seen, business began to pick up again. No longer was so much money lying in safes and cupboards.
Then came Friday. News came that ‘Big Head’ had been arrested in Jamaica. I did not understand why until I had a chat with an official at the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit. The official said that the unit keeps hearing that only the small fry are being arrested, that the big fish remain untouched.
He said that this is changing, but to me there must be serious intelligence on the local scene. That was how I learnt that the international community is here in Guyana looking at anyone who seems to be deeply involved in money laundering.
And so I turned to Mr. Shervington Lovell. I never associated him with drugs, but on Friday I realized how popular he was in the drug world. His arrest stunned that community. People said to me that “they gone wid a good man”.
I knew that he had invested heavily in Guyana and created employment opportunities for many contractors. I found out that he was approachable and that he pretty much kept to himself.
His arrest brought back memories of the Roger Khan arrest in Trinidad. It was also reminiscent of the Peter Morgan arrest on his way back to Guyana.
Both men were arrested outside of Guyana as a result of something introduced when Cricket World Cup came to the region. It was the Advance Passenger Information System that is shared around the world. Every flight has a passenger manifest which is transmitted to the various authorities.
An inspection of the manifest would reveal the name of a person of interest. Mr. Lovell’s name came up and when he landed in Jamaica, the Americans were there to greet him. They must have been collecting information from the drug couriers they arrested over time. We now hear that they want him for money laundering and drug trafficking. We have also heard that he was whisked to a court in Jamaica where he was informed of his possible extradition to the United States and that he waived his right to an objection.
What this is telling us is that many prominent people will not risk leaving Guyana. I know that Barry Dataram was wanted in the United States and he successfully challenged his extradition. Justice Ian Chang ruled that if there is a possibility that there could be extradition to a third country, then Guyana’s laws prohibit such extradition.
I can imagine the law enforcers around the world scanning the passenger manifests out of Guyana. I remember on one occasion when I was travelling to the United States, the aircraft attracted unusual attention. Guyana was seen as a drug transshipment country.
The aircraft was left on the tarmac for a while before being shunted to another gate. I suppose that was done so that another crew could handle the baggage.
On another occasion, I heard that the entire crop of baggage handlers was removed and replaced by another because the authorities anticipated drugs aboard the plane.
Guyana has a reputation. Those of us who travel know that we are under scrutiny, very close scrutiny. There will, however, be some who will take the chance, get arrested, and name the local supplier. And all for money.
That is why I do not envy people for what they have. There are consequences.

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