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With citizens fearful of a return to the Phantom Squad era following the execution of a businessman in front of Palm Court earlier this week, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn says the government is working to eradicate lawlessness.
The minister was at the time responding to a question posed by the media about concerns from the public on the return of execution style killings in Guyana. The question was in relation to the recent execution-style killing of 42-year-old, Ricardo Fagundes on Main Street, Georgetown.
“I want to assure the public that we are working hard to eradicate lawlessness and particularly gun crimes in Guyana, and crimes of that sort. We are working hard with it. We are reviewing the posture, the procedures, the actions which should happen when there is such an event so that we mitigate, prevent and deal with those who would get involved in that type of activity,” Minister Benn said.
The Post Mortem Examination (PME) on the body of Fagundes called ‘Paper Shorts’ has found that he died of multiple gunshot injuries. At the examination conducted on Wednesday, three metal fragments were retrieved from the body. Reports are that the gold dealer was shot sometime after 22:00hrs by persons who were in a white car. According to persons who passed the scene, the man was shot close to the pedestrian crossing which runs across Main Street in the vicinity of the nightspot.
Based on markings made by crime scene investigators at the scene, as much as a dozen bullets were pumped into the man and eyewitnesses suggested that high powered rifles were used by the gunmen. The body of the man, who was dressed in white trousers and a red shirt, was lying on the roadway late into Sunday night as investigators combed the scene. A large crowd gathered in the area at the time.
Fagundes was in 2017 hauled before the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in connection with a multi-million dollar probe involving Bartica gold dealer Saddiqi Rasul. Rasul was being investigated for a $956M fraud in which the large sum was collected from the Bartica branch of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) by the businessman. Rasul allegedly encashed some of the cheques involved in the case; many of which bounced at the financial institution.
Meanwhile, a release by the Department of Public Information (DPI) stated that government, in the last two national budgets allocated billions of dollars to bolster the country’s crime fighting capability. In the 2020 Emergency Budget, over $1 billion was allocated for the modernisation of several police stations and divisional headquarters countrywide. Added to that, some $428.1 million was earmarked for the procurement of 50 vehicles to ensure police officers could respond to crimes in a timely manner.
Meanwhile, $830 million has been allocated in the 2021 National Budget for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the Providence, Ruimveldt, Cove and John, Albion, Whim, Parika and Wismar police stations, among others. Additionally, 828 police ranks will undergo training in 20 different courses to improve their investigative and forensic capabilities. The Government is also resuscitating the Community Policing Groups (CPGs) countrywide with $95 million allotted to them to strengthen neighbourhood patrols and visibility. Minister Benn in November 2020 said CPGs play a key role in fighting crime.
