THE Guyana Government has said it will take up a United States offer to access the testimonies given by convicted drug-trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan, in order to open local investigations into the Phantom Squad which the self-confessed PPP government-backed crime fighter had led.

President David Granger, back in August, had given his administration’s clearest signal that he intends to investigate the Bharrat Jagdeo-era killings, and on Monday, new U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, was asked whether Washington would facilitate handing over testimony given by Khan during his trial.

Holloway told reporters that there are certain agreements that exist both through the UN, the OAS, “and quite possibly Guyana, (which) do allow that in certain cases, if the rules and regulations of the agreement are done with Guyana, or we have signed up under the UN or OAS to allow for such a thing, we would be sure to be disposed to cooperating within the framework of the rule of law.”

He added that a lot of time the requirements for such requests are pretty high for what you have to be able to provide to be able to go further. “We don’t allow fishing expeditions, we actually need something sort of concrete and (that) we could see on paper and touch; but within the agreements that we have — and we have done multilateral or international forums — we cooperate with any country in the world,” he said.

Criminal network
Back in 2003-2006 Khan, had set up a criminal network here, including active policemen and a number of former ranks, ostensibly to go after criminals, but at the same time protecting his narco-trafficking interests. He was nabbed in neighbouring Suriname in 2006 while fleeing local police, and was later handed over to U.S. authorities.

Although the PPP Government has sought to distance itself from Khan, the drug trafficker had stated publicly in an advertisement in local newspapers that he was fighting crime on behalf of the Bharrat Jagdeo-led government. Khan had also implicated former Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy in his escapades, and documents bearing the then minister’s signature authorising the purchase of a sophisticated wiretapping device were produced in U.S. courts during Khan’s trial.

Dr Ramsammy has always denied knowledge of the document.
Meanwhile, when quizzed on the U.S. offer, Minister of State, Defence Board Secretary Joseph Harmon, said: “Definitely! We would have an interest in what came out of the trial because it points to some levels of collusion with the past administration and the criminal elements; that is where the evidence is. If it is there, we would be happy to have it, because they have always said, ‘where is the evidence? Where is it?’ Well, that is where it is, and if that is where it is, we will go and get it and let the Guyanese people know who was doing what at that time,” Harmon declared.

During his trial, Khan pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine, witness tampering and gun-running, and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. Special Agent Cassandra Jackson of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, in her affidavit to the U.S. Court about Khan’s involvement in the drug trade in Guyana, had said: “Khan was ultimately able to control the cocaine industry in Guyana in large part because he was backed by a para-military squad that would murder, threaten, and intimidate others at Khan’s directive. Khan’s enforcers committed violent acts and murders on Khan’s orders that were directly in furtherance of Khan’s drug-trafficking conspiracy.”

Jackson told the court that the U.S. Government’s case was to establish that Khan was the leader of a “violent drug-trafficking organisation”, and that he and his co-conspirators obtained large quantities of cocaine and then imported the cocaine into the Eastern District of New York and other places for further distribution. Khan also had his hands — based on testimonies — in the killing of anti-PPP political activist Ronald Waddell and countless other citizens.

Earlier commitment
Back in August, at a Critchlow Labour College forum, President Granger had indicated that he would launch an inquiry into unsolved and unnatural deaths between the years 2000 and 2008. He stated then that the issue is one of the priorities for his administration. “In due course, I will ensure that all of those mothers’ children who were killed have their deaths investigated,” the President told the gathering of the Cuffy 250 Third Annual State of the African-Guyanese Forum.

In 2012, Granger had drafted a motion which sought to have the very issue addressed, but it was not successful in the 10th Parliament. Back then, the motion had sought to open cases of every unnatural death.

On Sunday, President Granger said the opening of the cases is lawful, and while he has no immediate date for the start, he has already begun discussions with Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams on the matter. Among the deaths which will be investigated is that of former Minister of Agriculture, Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and the security guard who were gunned down at their home in 2006. “When you have young men being shot in the backs of their heads with their hands tied; when you have so many deaths which have not been investigated; when a minister of the government has been assassinated and you don’t even have an inquest into his death, it is something stink. Something stinks, and we are going to investigate those deaths,” President Granger told the gathering.

The issue of Ramsammy was also mentioned by the President. The President also hinted at the deaths in Bartica, as well as the many policemen and residents from the community of Buxton who were killed during the period 2000-2008. He pointed to the three monuments erected at Bartica, Eve Leary and Buxton to remember those killed. He further noted that never before have so many policemen been killed, and never after so many were killed, than during the tenure of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. However, President Granger called on citizens to allow the monuments to remind them about the deaths which took place between 2000 and 2008.
By Ariana Gordon