GDF soldier dismissed in flak jacket investigation
By Kim Lucas
Stabroek News
November 23, 2002
A member of the 31 Special Forces Squadron has been dismissed from the Guyana Defence Force after investigations implicated him in the sale of a flak jacket.
The rank, Selwyn Fontinelle, was discharged on Wednesday after a summary trial the same day. He had been detained since October 4, after reporting to his superiors that a Charlestown resident had approached him with the intent to purchase an AK-47 assault rifle. At the time the army discovered that five flak jackets (bulletproof vests) were also missing and suspected that Fontinelle might have sold the protective gear to the same man. When contacted yesterday, Colonel Andrew Pompey told Stabroek News that Fontinelle was charged on Wednesday, based on a confession he had made linking him to the improper conduct of a soldier and the alleged sale of a flak jacket. "He was dismissed the same day from the force...The investigation was particularly lengthy, since we had to check and peruse to make sure that nothing else was missing and that no one else was acting in concert or collusion. We were not able to discern any collusion. The investigation pointed to the fact that Fontinelle acted independently," Pompey said.
Shortly after Fontinelle was detained, the Evans Street, Charlestown resident was nabbed in a sting by members of the Guyana Defence Force Counter Intelligence Department after a plan was put in place for Fontinelle to proceed with the sale. Well- placed sources had told this newspaper that the ex-soldier gave a statement claiming that he was previously approached for, and had sold five flak jackets. However, Pompey yesterday maintained that Fontinelle was only embroiled in the alleged sale of one vest. He said it has not been proven that he had, indeed, sold the gear.
Almost four months ago, three Coast Guard ranks were placed under close arrest following the alleged sale of two assault rifles to Mohamed Shaharuddin called `Plantain', of No. 79 Village, Corriverton and Rabindranauth Persaud, of Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown.
Since unearthing that conspiracy, the Guyana Defence Force's Intelligence Unit has been conducting a series of security lectures, sensitising members of the force to the dangers posed by those new threats, while reinforcing values of commitment and service.
