…in Guyana Sandport raid
FOLLOWING the attack on the sand and stone export company, Guyana Sandport Inc; at Coverden, East Bank Demerara, on Tuesday morning, it was confirmed yesterday that of the men held by the police, eight are members of the Guyana Presidential Guard Service.

The presidential guards, up to press time, were under close arrest at Tactical Services Unit (TSU) pending investigations.

A senior official of the Presidential Guard Service told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the men were positively identified as members of the organisation and were off duty at the time of the incident.
He added that the men used three vehicles that are not the property of the state, and are personal vehicles of the men who stormed the business place early Tuesday morning.

The official said, “They (presidential guards) participated in the incident without the knowledge of the organization; they decided to act as ‘enforcers’ for a Brazilian national who is currently engaged in a dispute with the owner of the facility. They deliberated destroyed equipment at the facility.
“Their actions have tarnished the image of the prestigious body of trained professionals,” he said.
He viewed the incident as ‘greed’, since they were continuously undergoing training in human development with sessions held with the presidential guards to prioritize their lifestyles  in relation to the security aspect of their job.
It was after 2:00hrs when the group of heavily armed men arrived in three separate vehicles and descended on the secured privately owned property of businessman Joseph Bhaskaran.
There the group, some of whom were masked, claimed to be policemen and severed the conveyor belt, which onloads and offloads the sand and stone for export.
During the incident, two security guards were assaulted and threatened with guns.
The storming and destruction of the property of the businessman is said to be the result of a recent ‘falling out between the owner and the Brazilian, who was the co-owner; and a court matter followed in which the Brazilian filed an injunction barring the current owner from doing business.
Meanwhile, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday told a press conference that a number of persons were arrested following the incident.
Luncheon said, “I am uncertain what the basis is and what they are being charged with. I can advise that information from the police and from the Presidential Guard Service is being solicited to help Office of the President to get a better appreciation of what precisely happened, and if indeed the guards were involved in improper and illegal activities, for the administration to respond to that.”
He confirmed that eight members of the Presidential Guard Service had been arrested.