Whistleblowing Berbice cops accuse colleagues of helping criminals - claim dead Black Bush bandits had policemen’s numbers stored in phones

Whistleblowing Berbice cops accuse colleagues of helping criminals – claim dead Black Bush bandits had policemen’s numbers stored in phones

Jun 11, 2019 News

By Malisa Playter-Harry

A few ranks of the Guyana Police Force’s ‘B’ Division are speaking out against some of their colleagues who they claim have been engaging in several corrupt acts in Berbice.
While the ranks have asked to remain unnamed due to fear of victimisation or losing their jobs, they have highlighted cases where policemen have been in collusion with questionable characters committing acts of terror in the Ancient County.
As alarming as it sounds, the GPF whistleblower said that they are now coming forward with the information because “the situation has gotten out of hand”.
One of the ranks who sat down with Kaieteur News has made some damning allegations against junior and senior officers within the force.
It was disclosed that a detective rank had close connections with the criminal network that had wreaked havoc across Berbice recently. The source disclosed that the detective (name given) was associated with now dead criminal Kelvin ‘Kelly’ Shivgobin, who was recently shot and killed in the backlands of Black Bush Polder during an alleged shootout with police. Their connection dates back to when Shivgobin was arrested and charged for the murder of a businessman.
The source claimed that the detective was one of the investigating ranks in that matter. The matter was dismissed in April 2018, and Shivgobin was set free after the Magistrate stated that there was not enough evidence to keep him in custody.
But some months after his release, there was new evidence to have Shivgobin rearrested.
It was disclosed that Shivgobin was never rearrested “because (the detective) helped him avoid getting arrested. He went to Shivgobin house where he lived with his baby mother in Albion and struck up a deal. The man tek $800,000 from ‘Kelly’, so that he nah gon get arrested. Every time the police get information where ‘Kelly’ deh, … (the detective) does tip him off so that he can be one step ahead of the police. A man that does drive hire car on the road that use to deh in dem criminal activities was the man that carry …(the detective) to the house, maybe he tek more money over time, but I know of the $800,000 payment”.
According to the police source, the alleged corrupt rank is “being covered” by a high-ranking officer who is not in ‘B’ division. When asked about what he means when he says ‘covered’, the source explained, “where …(the detective) works is near a few business people that does carry out a lot of illegal activities, they smuggle alcohol, have Venezuelan women carrying out prostitution acts, and gambling and so …(the detective) gets a cut from the business people so that they can continue doing what they are doing, but this senior police now is a very good friend of the business people who does do these things, he collects his free liquor, and also gets his cut. So is a partnership with the senior police…”
The whistleblowing cop claimed that the detective was transferred to Georgetown over a gun-related incident, but made immediate contact with the senior police officer to have him transferred back to Berbice.
The cop said that the detective in question, who publicly boasts about this incident, had stated several times that he paid the senior rank $120,000 to have him remain in Berbice, and that the money was handed over to the senior rank at the business place where the gambling takes place.
In that gun-related incident, the detective had threatened someone with the force’s firearm and the person filed a report. His gun was taken away and the detective was transferred to the city. He was then brought back to Berbice and was reissued the firearm, the source said.
In an explosive revelation, the whistleblowing cop said that a man who is currently on remand for murder was not connected to the crime. Shockingly, the source detailed that the very detective was one of the detectives leading the investigations into that matter.
“The boy never confessed although they claimed that he confessed. He did not confess, he did not do it. Normally when there is a confession, they video it, but that one with (name stated), there is no confession video.”
In that matter, this publication from inception had done groundwork and reported that the alleged perpetrator was seen on surveillance footage shopping at a supermarket in the village during the same time of the murder.
Adding to the list of corrupt activities, the well-placed source also named two other ranks who he said are directly involved in corrupt acts in Berbice. He said one of the ranks is “maybe a good cop in many person’s eyes, but he does a lot of things that people are not aware of”.
According to the source, this cop and another detective “are both involved in this drug trade because these men know where to go and find who when they doing drug bust. I noticed a few things, but nobody listened, so I am letting the media reveal it. When dem man go on drug busts, they take a part of it and lodge the rest…”
Additionally, the police source told this publication that when the three bandits were shot and killed in Black Bush Polder recently, the cellphones that were found on the men had numbers of police ranks in the call logs and the contact lists of the phones.
He revealed that some of the numbers found in the phones were the three ranks mentioned in this article, along with two others.
However, although it was mentioned in the initial story about the shooting, there has been no word from the Guyana Police Force to deny or admit to the allegation. The phones were sent to Georgetown but according to the source, “it gone to GT so you know what might happen there? Nothing might come out of it, because you got big police covering tracks”.
The source along with a few other ranks who also confirmed the information given, are calling for an independent investigation to be launched into what they deemed as “barefaced acts of corruption within the Force”. They altogether related that the senior police rank has been involved in corrupt acts for many years but remains untouched.