TWO senior police officers have again been charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for alleged misconduct, related to the falsification of payments for meals supplied to other officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). The officers charged by SOCU are Superintendent of Police, Loraine Saul, who is the former officer-in-charge of the Brickdam Police Station’s Other Ranks Mess and Assistant Superintendent of Police, Kurt Smith, who was the officer-in-charge of the Finance Department of the Guyana Police Force.
Both officers, who were charged on Monday for a similar case of alleged misconduct, were charged again by SOCU on Friday.
It was alleged that Saul falsified and inflated accounts for meals provided by the Brickdam Police Station’s Other Ranks Mess, for reimbursement at the police Finance Department. The Brickdam Police Station’s Other Ranks Mess provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner for ranks stationed at various stations and locations within Regional Division Four ‘A.’

The matter was reported to SOCU and was subsequently investigated, and it was found that Saul prepared an account and petty contract dated December 18, 2020, for meals purportedly supplied to ranks who performed fixed-point duties at the Georgetown Holding Centre, Sophia, between December 1 and 15, 2020, in the sum of $348,000.
Further, Saul prepared two similar accounts dated December 18, 2020 for meals purportedly supplied to ranks who performed fixed-point duties at the Georgetown Public Hospital Police Outpost and Georgetown Magistrate’s Court lockups between December 1 and 15, 2020, to the sum of $189,000 and $598,4000, respectively.
The investigations discovered that on each, occasion she inflated the number of ranks and meals, and that Smith, as Finance Officer (ag), knowingly colluded with Saul to defraud and authorise the payments when the amount of feeding never took place.

The duo was charged jointly on Thursday with two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, contrary to Section 34 of the Criminal Law Offences Act. Saul was also charged separately with two counts of falsification of accounts, contrary to Section 208 (b) of the Criminal Law Offences Act. Smith appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, where he was not required to plead to the charges as they were indictable, while the court was informed that Saul is currently not in the country. Smith was represented by attorney-at-law, Patrice Henry. He was placed on $50,000 bail on each charge and the matter was adjourned to May 14, 2021. The matters were prosecuted by attorney-at-law, Leslyn Noble.
The duo was already charged on Monday with the same offences. They were charged jointly with two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, contrary to Section 34 of the Criminal Law Offences Act and Saul was also charged separately with two counts of falsification of accounts, contrary to Section 208 (b) of the Criminal Law Offences Act.
In those matters, upon investigation, SOCU found that Saul prepared an account and petty contract, dated December 18, 2020 for meals purportedly supplied to ranks who performed duties at

‘A’ Division Riot Unit between December 1 and 15, 2020, to the amount of $1,350,000, when no such training was done for this period.
Further, it was found that Saul also prepared another account and petty contract dated the same dates for meals purportedly supplied to ranks who performed fixed-point duties at the Georgetown Prison between December 1 and 15, 2020, to the amount of $ 648,000; however, she inflated the number of ranks and number of meals on this account, to the sum of $465,000.
On that occasion, Smith was represented by attorney-at-law, Mark Waldron, who claimed that his client was not aware of the document he was signing, as another rank had taken it to him (Smith) to be signed. He was placed on $100,000 bail on each charge and that matter was adjourned to May 14, 2021.
Recently, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kevin Adonis, along with three other ranks of the Guyana Police Force, was charged with conspiring to steal over $19 million from the force.