GuyanaUpdate

Opposition Leader and WIN leader Azruddin Mohamed is now facing criminal charges in a Guyanese court on top of the US extradition case against him, after he and two employees were charged in connection with an incident outside the home of a senior police officer who is a key witness in that case.

The charges

Mohamed, his driver Eugene Thorne and videographer Mario Mohamed appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty on Friday, Demerara Waves reported. They are jointly charged with illegal possession of a .32 pistol, illegal possession of three matching rounds of ammunition, and attempting to pervert the course of justice by allegedly discharging a firearm near the residence of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine on October 12. All three pleaded not guilty.

Narine, head of the police Special Branch, is a main witness in the extradition proceedings in which the United States is seeking Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, to stand trial in Florida on alleged money laundering and other financial crimes linked to their gold business.

Strict bail conditions

Each man was granted $750,000 bail. Conditions include surrendering travel documents, not leaving Guyana without permission, reporting to the Kitty Police Station, having no contact with Narine or his family or with prosecution witnesses, and staying away from Narine’s home and the section of Barr Street between Vlissengen Road and Alexander Street. The matter returns to court on November 6. The prosecution asked for three weeks to disclose its evidence.

Competing accounts

According to police, Narine alleged the car passed his home twice; on the second pass he heard what seemed to be a gunshot, took cover and returned fire. Police say they later found a handgun with three live rounds in the vehicle.

Mohamed and his lawyers dispute this. They accuse police of planting the weapon, and Mohamed has accused police of trying to kill him. In court, defence lawyers Siand Dhurjon, Damien Da Silva and Roysdale Forde argued that the prosecution could not produce footage showing the noise was a gunshot, and that the charge places the firearm on Alexander Street rather than where the men were searched. WIN has described the incident as an assassination attempt and Mohamed has pressed for CCTV footage to be released.

What it means for the opposition

These are allegations that have yet to be tested in court, and all three men are presumed innocent. But Guyana’s official Opposition Leader is now fighting a US extradition request and facing local firearm and obstruction charges at the same time, with bail conditions barring him from part of a city street. PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton said in June that his party would not be part of “a personal fight” to protect someone accused of wrongdoing. Voters who backed WIN are entitled to ask how much of their party’s energy now goes to its leader’s legal battles rather than to holding the government to account.

Sources

• Demerara Waves – Opposition Leader, others granted bail on gun, ammo, justice perversion charges (Oct 16, 2026)
• Demerara Waves – Gun, ammo possession charges for Opposition Leader, employees (Oct 16, 2026)
• iNews Guyana – Opposition Leader & his employees get bail (Oct 16, 2026)
• News Source Guyana – Mohamed expresses concern over safety and presses for release of CCTV footage
• HGPTV – Norton says PNCR will not join fight to protect Mohamed from extradition (June 4, 2026)