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Tint shop owner arrested, mechanic surrenders as ‘Paper Shorts’ murder probe widens
(Kaieteur News) – The investigation into the 2021 assassination of Ricardo Fagundes, known as ‘Paper Shorts’, saw rapid developments over the last seven days. An East Bank Demerara businessman was arrested on Wednesday, a wanted mechanic surrendered to authorities, and three high-profile suspects were released on $1 million station bail each.
Reacting to the arrests in a video address posted to his Facebook page last evening, Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed criticised the police’s handling of the case, questioning why key figures remain untouched. “They continue to harass random people, yet key witnesses in the case, like Roger Khan, we haven’t seen a wanted bulletin for,” Mohamed stated.
Tint Shop Owner Arrested, Claims Police Coercion
Troy Singh, the owner of an Eccles-based tint shop, was arrested by police at his home at 10:00 AM on Tuesday. He remains in custody at the Kitty Police Station. Singh is the fifth person arrested in connection with the murder probe this year.
Troy Singh
Singh’s attorney, Yuborn Allicock, confirmed the arrest to Kaieteur News, stating that his client was first taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters on Vlissengen Road before being transferred to the Kitty Police Station. Allicock alleged that investigators are attempting to force his client into making false statements. “My client related to me that the police are pressuring him to implicate Mohamed in the said murder by stating that Mr. Mohamed had ordered him to tint the white fielder wagon…he also said that he has no knowledge of that,” Allicock stated.
Singh has maintained his innocence. In audio- and video-recorded interviews with the police, he insisted he never tinted any white Toyota Fielder wagon associated with Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed. Singh maintained that he “only tinted high-end vehicles for Mr. Mohamed.”
It remains unclear up to press time, whether police will seek a court extension to hold Singh beyond the standard 72-hour detention limit as they did for previously held Mark Richmond. The white fielder wagon in question is believed by investigators to be the getaway vehicle used by the hitmen who executed Fagundes in March 2021. Transaction documents reportedly shared with investigators in July 2025 indicate the said vehicle was sold to Shemroy Omar Stewart. In a video posted on his “Team Mohamed’s” Facebook page, Mohamed identified Stewart as a security guard and close associate of convicted drug trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan.
Wanted mechanic surrenders to police
Hours after a wanted bulletin was issued for his arrest on Tuesday, July 14, Satrohan Rajkumar, commonly known as “Depo,” surrendered to police on Wednesday, July 15. Accompanied by his attorney Damien Da Silva, Rajkumar turned himself in at the Regional Division 4 “A” Police Headquarters at Eve Leary. He was immediately arrested and transported to CID Headquarters on Vlissengen Road. Rajkumar, a mechanic, was the fourth person to be arrested in connection with the case this year. Under Guyanese law, police can hold him for up to 72 hours without charge, a window that expires this Friday unless the police request and are granted an extension by the high court.
Satrohan Rajkumar
The opposition leader said the bulletin for Rajkumar, whom he described as a respectable mechanic of 20 years who services his racing team’s vehicles, as “both unnecessary and absurd,” noting that Rajkumar lives minutes from the nearest station and operates openly. Mohamed added that Rajkumar suffers from an ulcerative stomach condition and expressed hope that he would receive his food on time while in custody. The police force issued a wanted bulletin for him for the offence of “murder” reportedly committed on “Paper Shorts”. The police force had also, one year ago, released a similar bulletin for the same charge for Rondell Bacchus. Bacchus was subsequently released with no development.
Mohamed also addressed the arrest of Troy Singh. He claimed Singh’s family spent the entire day desperately searching for him because he was barred from contacting them until his transfer to the Kitty Police Station. Condemning what he termed a “wild goose chase” by the ruling PPP, Mohamed pointed to the six-day detention of his former employee, Mark Richmond. “Can you believe that Mr. Mark Richmond was not questioned?” Mohamed asked. “If there were no questions to ask him, then why was he held for six days in the first place… This is a travesty in our justice system.”
Three suspects released on Million-Dollar Bail
These developments followed Tuesday’s release of three suspects who were detained for several days. Each was granted $1 million station bail.
The released men include Udoh Kanu, former manager at Mohamed’s Security, arrested on Monday, July 13, and represented by attorney Nigel Hughes, Amarnauth Ramsook, an auto sales dealer arrested on July 8, and Mark Richmond, a former security guard at Team Mohamed’s, arrested on July 8, and represented by Damien DaSilva. While freed on bail, Richmond has been ordered by police to report to investigators daily. Asked about the grounds for this daily reporting condition, his attorney stated that police provided “no reason”.
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who previously employed both Kanu and Richmond, released a series of videos on his “Team Mohamed’s” Facebook page. Mohamed categorised the renewed probe as a politically motivated fabrication orchestrated by the state. Mohamed further alleged that President Irfaan Ali instructed Deputy Crime Chief Mitchell Caesar to reopen the investigation as political retaliation.
“I discovered and exposed President [Ali’s] 150-acre megafarm, worth more than $5 billion,” Mohamed claimed in his public address. “This exposure has thrown the president into a state of desperation and panic… causing him to manufacture total fabrications… and attempt to manipulate the system.” Police Sergeant Dion Bascom publicly claimed in 2022 that senior police officers were involved in a high-level cover-up to protect key figures.
Following Bascom’s whistleblowing allegations, the government requested regional assistance from the Regional Security System (RSS). A former detective chief inspector from the UK’s Metropolitan Police was deployed to review the case files. The resulting RSS report, published by the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 9, 2022, cleared the investigators. The report concluded there was no evidence of corrupt practices or cover-up efforts by Detective Superintendent Mitchell Caesar or other police officers. It dismissed Sgt. Bascom’s bribery allegations as “hearsay having no provenance.” Additionally, the RSS review highlighted significant discrepancies in the initial investigation. It noted that a close associate of Fagundes, who was present at the scene on the night of the shooting, gave highly inaccurate statements to investigators. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage later contradicted the associate’s claims regarding who was driving the vehicle and omitted the presence of a third occupant inside their car.
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One thought on “Tint shop owner arrested, mechanic surrenders as ‘Paper Shorts’ murder probe widens”
Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
C-HICKEN should have called in the FBI, Scotland Yard for help with the
murder that the GPF is stumped – many moons ago.
One exposure of a Black belly sheep farm- 20/150 acres ? is causing some
jittery-ness ?
Looking for a connection to the OL, Azrudin Mohamed ?
Even myself is stumped.