-says court bound by CoA order; prosecution calls second witness

 

US-INDICTED businessmen Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed again attempted to stall the extradition proceedings on Thursday after their lawyers asked Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman to stay her hand until they obtain clarification from the Court of Appeal.

 

This follows a pattern of delay tactics, which ranged from the submission of medical reports to appeals all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which only Tuesday rejected the most recent attempt to stay the proceedings.

 

The Thursday request came as the prosecution was prepared to resume the proceedings, which commenced on January 6 but have been stalled since March 25.

Magistrate Latchman rejected the request, making it clear that she could not disregard an order issued by the higher court. The Chief Magistrate ruled that the proceedings must continue, stressing that she is bound by the Court of Appeal’s directive and therefore has no discretion to suspend the matter on the basis being advanced by the defence.

 

The application was made by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, who appeared for the Mohameds alongside attorneys Damien Da Silva and Siand Dhurjon.

 

Forde described the defence’s position as a “crisis of clarity” and argued that the Court of Appeal’s recent order has created uncertainty over how the committal proceedings should proceed.

 

The defence said it intended to approach the appellate court for directions on the scope and implications of its order before the extradition hearing progresses further.

 

The Court of Appeal has rejected the Mohameds’ request for a stay and permitted the extradition proceedings to continue. However, it has barred Latchman from making a final ruling while it determines the men’s constitutional challenge to certain provisions of the Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act.

 

The prosecution, led by Jamaican King’s Counsel Terrence Williams, with fellow Jamaican attorneys Herbert McKenzie and Celine Deidrick also appearing, opposed the defence’s request and urged Latchman to proceed in accordance with the existing court order.

 

The prosecution submitted that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal and that the extradition proceedings should therefore move forward.

 

The proceedings, which began on January 6, have been delayed by several legal challenges mounted by the defence and were placed on hold on March 25 following an order of the CCJ. That order was discharged on July 29 after the regional court dismissed the Mohameds’ challenge to the Authority to Proceed (ATP) issued by Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond.

The ATP had been challenged, among other grounds, on allegations of political bias.

 

The discharge of that order cleared the way for the extradition proceedings to resume, although the constitutional challenge before the Court of Appeal remains pending.

Thursday’s ruling means the committal proceedings will continue, although Latchman remains prohibited from delivering a final decision in the extradition case until the appellate court determines the constitutional challenge.

 

NEW TESTIMONY

 

With the court declining to pause the case, the prosecution proceeded with evidence from its second witness, Senior Superintendent of Police Prem Narine, head of the Special Branch Unit.

 

Narine took the witness stand on Thursday and is now being cross-examined by the defence.

His testimony provided the court with an account of the events of October 31, 2025, when the two businessmen were arrested following the United States’ extradition request.

 

Narine said the process began at the Attorney General’s Office on Carmichael Street, Georgetown, where he collected documents relating to the extradition request.

 

Among the material was the ATP signed by Minister Walrond, along with documents bearing the signature of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

 

He also told the court that he received a Section 6 Certificate under the Fugitive Offenders Act, to which was attached the extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Two draft arrest warrants relating to the Mohameds were also among the documents, Narine testified.

 

The witness said he subsequently went to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts with Detective Superintendent of Police Rodwell Sarrabo.

 

There, he appeared before Latchman, swore to the truth of the documents, and tendered them to the court. The warrants were then issued for the arrests of Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed.

 

Armed with the warrants, Narine and Sarrabo went to Smyth Street, Georgetown, where they found Azruddin inside a black Toyota Crown bearing registration number PZZ 5000.

 

Narine testified that he told Azruddin that the United States had requested his extradition in connection with allegations including money laundering and wire fraud and that a warrant had been issued. Azruddin was taken into custody.

 

The witness said Azruddin then asked to contact Dhurjon. According to Narine, Sarrabo used his personal cellphone to call the attorney, but there was no answer.

 

The Opposition Leader was subsequently taken to Brickdam Police Station.

 

Narine said the police team then went to Mohamed’s Enterprise on Lombard Street, where they located Nazar. The elder Mohamed was informed that the United States had also requested his extradition and that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Nazar was taken into custody and placed in the police vehicle.

 

According to Narine, Nazar did not make a request when he was arrested but told the police that he had been waiting for them to arrive.

 

The witness further recounted that while the men were being transported to the Brickdam Police Station, Dhurjon contacted Sarrabo’s phone and said he would meet them at the station.

 

At the station, the arrests were formally recorded, Narine said, after which the father and son were allowed to meet privately with their attorney and a U.S. Marshal.

 

They were subsequently taken before the court at about 13:00hrs., when the extradition proceedings got underway. Narine remains under cross-examination and is expected to continue answering questions from the defence today.

 

The prosecution’s first witness, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, had previously been undergoing cross-examination when the case was interrupted.

 

She appeared in court on Thursday, but her further cross-examination was deferred.

The extradition case stems from a request by the United States for the surrender of the Mohameds to face an 11-count federal indictment.

 

U.S. prosecutors alleged that the two businessmen participated in a multi-year scheme involving the export of Guyanese gold using falsified customs declarations and reused government export seals, allegedly resulting in the evasion of more than US$50 million in taxes and royalties.

 

The indictment includes allegations of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and customs offences. The Mohameds have denied the allegations.

 

The father and son remain on $150,000 bail following their arrests. Their bail conditions include the surrender of their passports and weekly reporting to the Ruimveldt Police Station.

 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned both men in 2024 over allegations linked to corruption and gold smuggling. They were subsequently indicted by prosecutors in 2025 on related charges in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.