Lt. Colonel facing court-martial over missing AKs
Kaieteur News
January 9, 2007
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The Guyana Defence Force is reportedly preparing to court-martial one of its top officers, as information surfaced last night of a major shake-up in the army's hierarchy.
Kaieteur News understands that the rank, a lieutenant colonel, faces disciplinary action over the theft of several of the army's AK-47 assault rifles.
The officer was head of a department at Camp Ayanganna when the weapons disappeared.
He has since been transferred.
Kaieteur News was told that another senior rank is also to be court-martialled for his conduct during a Joint Services' search of a businessman's premises for the missing weapons.
According to a source, it is alleged that the rank's behaviour at the scene caused the search to be compromised.
The officer has reportedly taken legal action to prevent the court-martial hearing.
Officials again confirmed that the top brass was preparing to make major changes to the investigative team that was set up to recover the army's stolen weapons.
Among the changes is the removal of a top official from the Intelligence Department.
According to the source, a lieutenant colonel is also being removed from the investigative team.
The army's top brass is said to be dissatisfied with the team's results in recovering the remaining weapons and tracking down the culprits.
While the Joint Services have recovered 13 of the high-powered weapons and prosecuted some army ranks, investigators have been unable to implicate the masterminds behind the theft.