Parliamentary scrutiny of Police Force could serve as deterrent against cops’ involvement in illegal activities – AFC

Sep 08, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – Scrutiny of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and its ranks can serve as a deterrent for their involvement in criminal activities, the Alliance For Change (AFC) said on Friday.

Recently, there have been a number of reports of members of the Police and Defence Forces being involved in illegal activities.

At the party’s weekly press conference, former Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan told this publication that rogue police officers must be dismissed from the Force.

“We have to make sure policemen that have gone rogue in relation to matters of protection and service must be dismissed and we have to have investigation carried out by Police Service Commissions to ensure that those who are supposed to protect and serve us must do so professionally, honestly and justly,” Ramjattan said.

Ramjattan said that Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn ought to operationalise the Public Security Committee of Parliament to allow for continued scrutiny of members of the Force.

“…Like in America, where we can demand and subpoena people to come and answer questions like the PPP (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) did when they were in opposition from 2015-2020,” Ramjattan, who is also an attorney said.

Ramjattan recalled: “I allowed people like Robeson Benn and Gail Teixeira and Harry Gill, to come and ask questions of the Commissioner, the Fire Chief and the Prison Commissioner and they did that extensively.”

He said while in the past, there was thorough scrutiny of the officials, since the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) took office there has been “a total shut down”.

“… So that is where the policy for the Alliance For Change is vastly different from that for the existing government in relation to matters of police scrutiny and you see when you have scrutiny like that it deters or it has a capacity to deter the activities of police that are so much involved in all kinds of things now.”

Lack of Capacity

Meanwhile, Leader of the AFC Nigel Hughes during the press conference pointed to the recent 4.4 tons (4,400 kilos) drug bust with a street value of US$188M on August 31 at an illegal airstrip at Matthews Ridge.

Hughes referenced statements made by President Irfaan Ali who said that his government will continue to work with its partners to destabilize and break the back of all criminal networks operating in the country.

Hughes said, “…The headline of the president or the statement by the president that he was going to dismantle the drug gang? You would have to be living in wonderland to take that statement seriously, what is he going to dismantle the drug gangs with?”

He continued: “I am sure when the heads of criminal enterprises in Guyana, meet and hear what the President says, they must have a good laugh, because the President has not been able to dismantle anything looking like a drug gang unless the United States if America provides assistance.”

Hughes reminded that the discovery of two submarines and almost quarter billion worth of narcotics found in Guyana were not detected by domestic law enforcement.

“So it must mean that it is clear that the ability to locate large quantities of narcotics, the ability to locate the equipment that is used to convey this large quantities of narcotics overseas that is clearly beyond the capacity of the Guyana Police Force (GPF),” the AFC leader said.

He said too that it is clear that the GPF lacks the capacity to combat major crimes. As a result, he called on the government to implement the Protective Disclosure Act of 2018 aimed at establishing a Commission where persons can make protected disclosures.

“…Whistle blowing as it’s called since 2018 that was passed through the previous administration and up to now that Act has not been brought into the force.”

Hughes said that the implementation of the Act would be vital in the investigation of the recent US$188M cocaine bust.

“…An act like this would allow them to make the disclosure confidentially to the Commission or to its agent so that you can start to get real information,” Hughes said at the press conference.

Hughes, also an attorney, said that residents of the community where the cocaine was found would be reluctant to reveal any information related to the find due to reports in the media that suggests a senior police officer is connected to the cocaine bust.

“…The difficulty with that is that the more people lose confidence in the Guyana Police Force, is the more the rule of law becomes threatened,” the attorney said.

Kaieteur News recently reported that a senior police officer is allegedly connected to the US$188M cocaine bust at Matthews Ridge, Region One and law enforcement authorities are looking to question him regarding his alleged role in the smuggling of drugs out of the area.

Local law-enforcement authorities believe that the large quantity of cocaine that was seized in a Joint-Services operation was being transshipped to Europe. So far, one man has been arrested and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) said that several others escaped when law men swooped down on the Barima-Waini operations.

Kaieteur News has been told that a senior police officer is being questioned in relations to his involvement with the traffickers. Sources told this newspaper that the officer might have been aware of the operations at Matthews Ridge where cocaine was frequently dropped off and then picked up by small aircraft.

“They are looking into reports that this officer was aware of the operations and when the drugs would move in and out,” one of the sources told this newspaper.

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• cocaine, drug bust, Khemraj Ramjattan, Nigel Hughes, police

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