The Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) have refuted charges made by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) over their handling of the discovery of arms and a quantity of passports earlier this year.

At a press conference on Thursday, the PNCR said it wanted to know why the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit’s (CANU) rate of arrests had fallen dramatically over the past 14 months and why so many of its ranks have quit their jobs.

The party cited an instance where members of CANU raided a home in Canal No. 1 and unearthed a number of items, including passports and weapons. One person was said to have been arrested and taken into custody at CANU’s headquarters. The party further alleged that the Minister of Home Affairs and other high-ranking officials ordered the individual’s release. Nothing has come of the arrest and the items taken from the home were returned with an apology, the PNCR said.

Yesterday, CANU refuted what it said were inaccuracies contained in the PNCR statement, noting that the house at Lot 17 Canal No. 2 Polder West Bank Demerara was searched for narcotics on March 21 of this year and not in May as alleged by the party. CANU said that at the end of the search no drugs were found, but that 157 passports from various countries along with five firearms of varying calibre were discovered. “The occupants were arrested and brought to CANU Headquarters along with the passports and firearms, where they were processed and subsequently handed over to the police for follow up investigations because of the lack of jurisdiction by CANU in matters of this nature,” CANU’s statement said.

The police also weighed in on the matter in a press release yesterday. They said three persons were charged in relation to the case referred to by the PNCR. Salim Azeez and Sita Singh of the same address and Narindra, a carpenter from Vreed en Hoop were charged on May 27 at the Wales Magistrate’s court where they were placed on $100,000 bail each. The matter was called yesterday and they are to reappear on July 10, the press release said. Five firearms were found of which three were legally obtained and licences issued.

The guns before the court are one .357 Magnum revolver and one 9mm pistol along with nine rounds. As for the passports, the police say they have the documents and investigations were incomplete because of the number of documents involved.

The press release said the PNCR is pointing fingers without knowing the facts. “To say that the Minister of Home Affairs and high-ranking police officials ordered the release of a man and that the firearms and passports have been returned with an apology are blatant lies that are being peddled by the PNCR”, the police said.

CANU’s statement added “I wish to reiterate that CANU is a professional organisation guided in its operational conduct by high moral standards and ethics and will continue to follow that rigid path”.

At the press conference, the PNCR also raised concerns about the failure of the government to provide the public with accurate and timely information on the shipment of illegal drugs in timber to the United Kingdom, noting that this information was available to the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Customs and Trade Administration.