GuyanaUpdate

Updated Tuesday night with a statement from the Government of Guyana.

GEORGETOWN — The Government of Guyana says it has informed the United States Department of Justice after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed was arrested late Monday night outside the Kitty home of Special Branch head Prem Narine, a key witness in the US extradition case against him. Narine fired on the car Mohamed was travelling in, and police say an unlicensed pistol was found inside. Mohamed says the gun was planted and that police tried to kill him.

The accounts could not be further apart.

The police version. According to a Guyana Police Force statement, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine was at home on Barr Street, Kitty, around 11:45 p.m. when he noticed a black Toyota Allion, registration PXX 5300, moving slowly past his house. The car drove by, then came back. On the second pass, police say, Narine heard what sounded like a gunshot, took cover and fired several rounds from his service weapon toward the car, which then sped off.

The Allion was stopped a short distance away at Vlissengen Road and Sandy Babb Street. Inside were Mohamed, 39, of Houston, East Bank Demerara; Mario Mohamed, 25, of Timehri; and driver Eugene Thorne, 35, also of Timehri. Police say a search turned up a .32 Taurus pistol with no serial number and three live .32 rounds. All three men were arrested for possessing a firearm and ammunition without a licence and taken to the Kitty Police Station.

Investigators say they recovered one spent .32 casing on the southern side of Barr Street, roughly across from Narine’s house, and four spent 9mm casings. The weapon and casings have been sent for ballistic testing, and CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed. Police are treating the matter as discharging a loaded firearm with intent and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Mohamed’s version. Mohamed and his attorney, Siand Dhurjon, deny any link to the pistol, which police say was located under the accelerator pedal. Mohamed says it was planted by officers while he was being taken to the station. He also alleges that Narine fired more shots during the arrest and assaulted him.

Mohamed says he drove past the house to film what he called an excessive police security detail at Narine’s private residence, which he described as a waste of state resources.

The Government’s version. In a statement issued Tuesday night, the Government said it has notified the US Department of Justice of what it called startling developments, and that the State has a duty to protect the justice system from interference. It promised that “the full force of the law will be applied.”

The Government’s account goes further than the police statement. It describes Mohamed and two of his workers, whom it labelled henchmen, filming Narine’s home around midnight from a dark, heavily tinted car. Where police said only that Narine heard what appeared to be a gunshot, the Government states outright that shots were fired from the car. It also says Narine hit the car multiple times when he returned fire.

The statement points to earlier events in the extradition hearing. It says Mohamed’s Facebook page posted photos of Narine and his family, including his young son, with President Irfaan Ali in an attempt to suggest impropriety. It adds that Narine later told the magistrate under oath that he fears for his life and his family’s safety.

The Government argued that the incident raises several serious criminal offences, with consequences both for the safety of witnesses in Guyana and for the US criminal case, since the extradition is meant to send the Mohameds to trial in Florida. It did not say what charges, if any, have been filed.

Why it matters. Narine is not a neutral figure in Mohamed’s life. He has been on the witness stand before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman in the United States’ extradition case against Mohamed and his father, Nazar. In that testimony he has labelled the Opposition Leader a national security threat and linked him to several killings. Mohamed has never been charged with any of those alleged offences.

The shooting happened hours before Mohamed was due at the Court of Appeal in his constitutional challenge to the Fugitive Offenders Act. That hearing went ahead on Tuesday. Neither police nor the Government had announced by Tuesday night whether Mohamed has been formally charged or released.

Sources: Guyana Police Force statement via Demerara Waves and Kaieteur News; Government of Guyana statement via News Source Guyana. Image is illustrative.