Dear Editor,

THE interception, arraignment and trial, and subsequent conviction of Guyanese pilot Khamraj Lall, for charges of cocaine trafficking and money laundering, apart from shedding further light on the criminal dynamics of local money laundering, facilitates a further window view of the operations of the local criminal state under the PPP/C administration.

Lall was undoubtedly caught with his pants down; perhaps least when he expected such a flagging of his jet from authorities in Puerto Rico. It blew the entire bottom out of his assumed mental safety of his aircraft, from possible discovery. But he was mistaken; for he above most persons who are involved in such a risky trade, ought to know that every type of vessel, both air and sea, more so planes, are major targets for customs’ inspection. This has not been without good cause. The scorecard of such conveyors, on which both illegal substances and dirty money have been found, tells its own story.

So what lessons are there for Guyana? In actuality, Lall’s conviction again reminds Guyanese of the vastness and pervasiveness of dirty money and the players who are often involved. It also nails the deceptive lie of the PPP/C in its attempt some time ago to downplay the cancer that is money laundering to its supporters; especially that it is a figment of the imagination of the current coalition government. But it is not. In fact, it is a monster of humongous proportions. One only has to refer to the $14B found in several accounts belonging to a former permanent secretary, who had transitioned from the PPP/C administration, but who has since been arraigned before the court. Heaven knows how many more undiscovered cases of such a nature there are.

However, there is no doubt that the fall of Khamraj Lall is the removal of another brick in the huge construct of the egregious and dark wall that is money laundering in Guyana. This translates into another severe dent, and further dismantling, of the criminal state.

Regards,
Earl Hamilton