As Guyana grappled with one of the deadliest maritime disasters in its history and families anxiously awaited news of missing loved ones, the Guyana Police Force deployed approximately 20 officers to search a property belonging to Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, prompting accusations that the State had misplaced its priorities at a time of national tragedy.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition said the operation unfolded on Monday afternoon while Mohamed was in the Iron Punt area near the mouth of the Pomeroon River, actively participating in the search and recovery mission for victims of the MV Barima disaster and supporting grieving relatives.
According to the Office, the search was conducted at Mohamed’s Friendship, East Bank Demerara property under a warrant issued by Magistrate Tameka Clarke and presented by Detective Superintendent Chabinauth Singh as part of the ongoing investigation into the 2021 murder of Ricardo Fagundes.
“The Leader of the Opposition has consistently maintained his innocence in this criminal fabrication and implication of him in this crime,” the statement said.
The search occurred as Guyana’s recovery operation remained in full swing following Saturday night’s sinking of the MV Barima off the country’s northwestern coast. The tragedy claimed dozens of lives and triggered an unprecedented multinational search and recovery effort involving the Guyana Defence Force, regional partners and specialist divers from Trinidad and Tobago and French Guiana.
Against that backdrop, the Opposition questioned why significant police and marine resources were committed to the execution of a search warrant rather than the national recovery effort.
According to the statement, officers arrived at the property by Guyana Police Force river patrol vessel, entering through the private wharf before members of Mohamed’s family were even aware the operation was underway.
The Office said Mohamed only learned of the search after receiving numerous telephone calls, messages and videos from neighbours and passersby reporting that police had surrounded the property.
By the time family members arrived at about 2:28 p.m., the statement said, officers had already spent approximately an hour inside the premises.
The security guard’s cellular phone was immediately confiscated upon the officers’ arrival, preventing him from alerting Mohamed while the search was being conducted, according to the Office. The phone was later returned.
The Opposition further alleged that every building on the property was searched twice—once before family members arrived and again after they were present to observe the exercise.
It also claimed that photographers, videographers, drone operators and media personnel documented the property extensively, raising concerns that images of the residence’s layout and security features had been deliberately captured.
The Office said Detective Superintendent Singh confirmed that no items were removed from the property apart from the security guard’s phone, which was returned several hours later.
The statement also pointed to recent developments in the Fagundes investigation, claiming that at least six individuals, or their attorneys, have publicly alleged over the past week that investigators attempted to pressure them into falsely implicating Mohamed.
According to the Office, those individuals refused, were detained for prolonged periods and were ultimately released without charge. Those allegations have not been independently verified, and the Guyana Police Force has not publicly addressed them.
The Opposition argued that Monday’s operation forms part of what it described as an escalating pattern of police action targeting Mohamed and persons associated with him, particularly after he began publicly raising questions about matters involving the Government, including allegations concerning President Irfaan Ali’s reported more than150-acre property.
While families across Guyana waited for news from the sea and recovery teams searched for those still unaccounted for, the Office said the State chose to commit substantial manpower to a search that yielded no evidence.
“Yesterday’s search of one of his properties, while he was assisting in one of the largest search and recovery operations in our nation’s history, has only deepened public concern that these actions form part of a broader campaign of intimidation and distraction,” the statement said.
The Office maintained that “justice must never become a pretext for political intimidation, nor should criminal investigations be conducted in a manner that creates the appearance of political persecution.”
The Guyana Police Force has not publicly commented on the Opposition’s allegations or the execution of the search warrant.
