Court hears theft caught on CCTV cameras

THREE police officers have found themselves on the wrong side of the law after they were remanded to prison on Wednesday for allegedly stealing suspected narcotics from the West Ruimveldt Police Station.
Detective Constable Grenville Harris, 26, of South Vryheid’s Lust; Corporal Floyd Pellew, 39, of Crane Housing Scheme; and Detective Corporal Latchman Singh, of Weldaad, were jointly charged with larceny and appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The trio, who were all stationed at the West Ruimveldt Station at the time of the alleged incident, were not required to plead.

The charge stems from the alleged theft of 400 grams of suspected narcotics, initially secured in a strongbox at the police station. Prosecutors allege that on March 13, the officers removed the parcels from the strongbox and attempted to cover their tracks.
The court heard that CCTV footage from the station reportedly captured Corporal Pellew removing the items and handing them over to Detectives Singh and Harris, who were then seen entering the CID room with a bag before later returning it.
During an internal probe, a police sergeant observed that the strongbox seal had been tampered with, and four parcels were missing.

The narcotics—originally weighing 4.9 kilogrammes—had dropped to 4.5 kilogrammes. Advice was subsequently sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions, leading to the laying of charges.
Despite the gravity of the allegations and the prosecution’s objection to bail—citing obstruction of justice and potential witness tampering—all three officers remain on the job.
Defence attorneys Patrice Henry and Eusi Anderson pushed back strongly.

Henry, representing Singh and Pellew, highlighted Singh’s 16-year unblemished service record and challenged the validity of the evidence, including the nature of the substance allegedly stolen.
He claimed that the GPF has previously misidentified innocuous substances such as milk and flour as narcotics and noted that no forensic test results had been presented.
Anderson, representing Harris, described the allegations as “whimsical” and insisted that his client, a father of one and law-abiding officer, was unfamiliar with the charge read in court, which differed from earlier statements.
Despite these arguments, Magistrate Azore denied bail, and the men were remanded until May 14 for disclosure of statements.

Meanwhile, Corporal Singh is also facing a separate charge for allegedly assaulting a man named Akeem at the same station on August 8, 2024.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted $25,000 bail. That matter is also set for May 14.

This high-profile case comes amid internal scandals involving the reported disappearance of a quantity of cocaine and cannabis along with other seized articles from the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) armoury at the GPF’s Eve Leary headquarters.
These matters are currently under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) after media reports and public concern mounted.