US drug accused Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan purchased computer telephonic surveillance equipment from the Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with permission from the Guyana government, according to Khan’s defence attorney.
In a subpoena to the Drug Enforcement Administration from Defence Attorney Robert M Simels, dated April 28, 2008, it is stated that following Khan’s arrest, “FBI agent Justin Krider investigated Khan’s purchase of the computer telephonic surveillance equipment from the Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and found Khan had permission from the Government of Guyana to purchase and possess this equipment.”
Attempts to contact President Bharrat Jagdeo, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds for a response were unsuccessful. Requests to Assistant Press and Publicity Officer in the Office of the President Kwame McCoy to assist this newspaper in making contact with either the President or Dr Luncheon also produced no result.
Simels is seeking the testimony and all documents in Krider’s possession as these relate to the surveillance equipment purchased in Florida.
In a background paragraph the subpoena says that Khan is alleged to have used the equipment to improperly wiretap various high-ranking officials and others within Guyana in order to maintain his “alleged drug organization.”
Guyanese first became aware of Khan when he, Haroon Yahya and policeman Sean Belfield were detained on December 4, 2002 by an army patrol and turned over to the police following the discovery of sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment and arms in a pick-up at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara.
When they were caught, Khan and his partners had told law enforcement officials that they were in search of Shawn Brown and the other prison escapees who had fled the Camp Street prison earlier that year. The men were later charged with possession of arms and ammunition and placed on $500,000 bail each.
The charges were subsequently dismissed by Magistrate Jerrick Stephney at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court the next year.
From 1994 when he fled from the US to 2002 when he was caught with the surveillance equipment and arms, Khan had already established himself as businessman and had also secured government contracts working on a building project at the University of Guyana, one of his local attorneys disclosed.
Between 2002-2006 Khan kept a relatively low profile, although according to one of the statements he released when local police had set about trying to arrest him, during that time he had been involved in crime-fighting.
His lawyers told the court in New York that following the February 23, 2002 jailbreak when the escapees went on a killing spree he responded to the crisis, providing financial and logistical support to the government. “During the crime spree in 2002, I worked closely with the crime-fighting sections of the Guyana Police Force and provided them with assistance and information at my own expense.
“My participation was instrumental in curbing crime during this period,” Khan had said in one of his media statements.
The US has since alleged that a group he had set up was responsible for the murders of over 200 people during that period. Apart from the period immediately prior to Khan’s departure from Guyana for Suriname in 2006 because he was being sought by local law enforcers, his only other encounter with the police after the Good Hope incident came when properties owned by him were raided.
According to the subpoena Khan’s defence is also seeking all annual “country reports” for Guyana and Venezuela between 2001 and 2006 including, among other things, documents, reports, e-mails and facsimiles supporting the content of these reports.
They have also asked for documents related to the results of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Information System searches for Khan’s various aliases, which are connected to Guyana and those of Guyanese descent.
Carl,
This equipment cannot be purchased without the permission of a Government or Law enforcement agency unless it is purchased behind the scene. This purchased was made at official company and so paper trail is evident.
Now the big question is who actually bought it? Since RK could not go to the US, who was the actual person that was acting under Roger Khan’s behalf.
We will soon find out…I am sure this will be another shocker.
that is one part of the puzzele that is missing and no one has asked the question. SN dig du wan up fuh wee. when that question is answered then we gon see dem dancin
to dee TASSA DRUM especially how dee RAJHA start singin CONGRADULATION US of A help clean up my beloved country.God will BLESS the USA and they will get out of the crisis that its in
Is there any validity to this?
Mr. Trotman, Mr. Ramjattan and the rest of the AFC, do you notice that everyone is calling on you to lead us….Show us you really love this country, take us where we as a people wanted to go for a long time. Get up off your butts and demonstrate the kind of leadership that is required in this country.
We all know what happen in this country from 2001 – to date, there must be a way in which we can bring these criminals to justice. You guys are lawyers, find a way we need justice that’s all we need. We can’t afford to have more RKs, we just can’t. Help us…we beg you help us.
Haven’t we endured enough through the PNC years and now the PPP? Are you guys going to stand by and watch us be picked off one by one? GPF, GDF, its time you go where this story leads and bring his friends, family and associates to justice.
This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Let us set an example here, once and for all. We don’t need PNC on this one….they are too polarizing. We need someone who everyone can trust and that’s you AFC. It’s time.
Who can verify that the government did give Roger Khan permission to buy the surveilance equipment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida? You guys forget how good Guyanese have become at forging the signatures of anybody be it government official or you, the ordinary man since in the ’70s? And who say it was impossible to get official letterheads with the government seal, stamp, crimp, scratch, or whatever on it, especially in this day and age when printers are hooked up to computers that can be used in someone’s home. As I can recall, only last week it was reported in this same Stabroek News paper that a taxi driver was arrested with uttering a forged document with a forged signature or Minister Clement Rohee saying that he can have dark tint, and THAT happened in Guyana. Now who is to tell if a forged letter with false government letterhead and false signatures of government official was issued to the ppl all the way in Florida, would the Floridians at the Spy Shop know the letter was fake? Come on now guys, forgery was a way of survival Guyanese had to perfect to survive during the Burnham error (I spelt it correct, don’t correct). Now who want to contest that? I believe Roger Khan money talked so anything walked.
Macky you are so hell bent on defending Roger aka “Who framed Roger rabbit”. His own lawyers are claiming this as his mouthpiece. Is not the US uncover this information and release it, it is his own lawyers. Other accusations have come from the US but this came from his lawyers. Don’t come back with a statement that he trying to blame the government. They cannot help him even if they wanted. He trying to save himself. The fact is “INXS” if you researched effectively you will find that this particular equipment requires government approval or law enforcement approval to purchase and export legally without being caught by any immigration or custom officers or DEA/FBI. Now he could have bought it off the black market but for some reason he choose a legitimate source…can you tell me why INXS and Macky?
INXS search for the equipment and try to buy it online and then send me the link so I can buy one. Bulletproof and guns are common sales…a surveillance computer is not…go figure.
Lastly PhantomWriter, why not ask the question of what it would have been like if Roger never came to Guyana? Or who released the 5 escapees.
Do you notice the main people that were attacked and killed after the escapees came out…you should know them…the escapees were a real threat to the drug barons operation…Khan didn’t care about the Guyanese people… The phantom was formed to curb the problem of a gang that can shut them down. I will never be thankful for any killer or criminal…irregardless of what they did, because we were no safer after they killed the main gang members…they became the fear of half of the population as the gangsters had one half afraid before.
MACKYDOG,! U said it, persons not thinking, remember the US wanted RK for yrs, and couldn’t find him, why would they allow him to purchase spy equiptment,? RK ran away from the US because of drugs, people r not thinking, Guyanese r very smart people, many of them r over here with false passports, that’s the reason the US passports keeps changing.
Darn any documents can be reproduced in Guyana, persons had years of city taxes paid on a land, although I had the genuine receipts, the crookery was found out, when the same person with same handwriting wrote receipts for water bills.
Explain to these bloggers more, some in here are not born Guyanese, so they talk junk.
macdog all the things that you are possibilities that the invistagating of the US government must have taken into consideration, Ido not think that other bloggers are passing judgement we are just worries and concerned about the future of our beloved country and our loved ones that are facing this disgraceful situation and who would be the next victim , don’t forget the corrupt ones who EYE BIG and are not satisfied with their wages and LIKE TO HANG OUT WID DEM BIG FISH. Khan must have had them SO WRONG around his PINKEY that they have become CROSS-THREADED and now the US government on their HEELS they must be shivering in their boots. the EXPLOSION!!! is yet to come I hope I do not have to miss it seeing the time difference SN keep the ËXPLOSION FOR WEEK-END “BREAKING NEWS”THANKS AGAIN FOR KEEPING US INFORMED
has anyone ever wondered what would be the state of affairs of Guyana had Roger Khan and associates not intervened in the crime situation?
perhaps you would have preferred the senseless killing to continue without anyone doing anything about it…
now i’m certainly not supportive of the ppp administration… but if any government finds that their current security forces are incapable of dealing with any crime situation then they have the right to enlist civilians with respective skills and resources…
in this case…that person was roger khan and crew…
his organisation at the time could be loosely described as a paramilitary group….and yes…even the big countries like the usa have those…they won’t go telling everyone about it but they do…
and when it comes to dealing with criminals with the caliber of weapons that the escapee crew had….they would have been dealt with in equal or greater force than we use on criminals here…
its sad to see that ppl arent at least a slight bit thankful for what roger khan has helped to do in relation to crime in guyana…
The point is not whether we are grateful or ungrateful that Roger Khan acted as a vigilante, but the contention is that the Government was/is denying having any connection with Roger Khan.
Further information will reveal whether this report is true or not.
Yes you are supporting the PPP don’t patronise us.
What qualified Roger Khan to have respective skills and resources?
Most of his guys were ex police and army and some were still serving. Couldn’t they find them on their own. If the government felt that they could not deal with the criminals then they should have asked internationally for assistance the proper way. Instead they chose an alleged drug lord to set up a paramilitary group for the protection of his drugs and then finally for the sport of chase and kill.
Is this what you wanted Phantom and Macky.
What no one talks about was the theory for mayhem and killings initially. We always need to find the source and then we can fix the problem because it is still there.
The drug empire in Guyana had to change hands…debtors had to be taken care off (Persaud as example), informants had to be wiped out, power and control had to be established (attempts at killing Bramha and killings of many other drug lords around as example). Roger Khan suddenly became this big player and all the others either joined him or felt the squeeze. Anyone killed mysteriously , the escapees or the gangs we blamed.
It’s impossible to even get into more details…those who know will be able to understand….RK was no saviour of Guyanese…
You telling me, a private citizen can get his own army and kill citizens in the name of whoever is the government of the day. So what or who is to stop any other person from forming his or her own army? Hey, that went out in the 11th century in Europe, thats how backward Guyanese thinking is anyhow.
His HELP was his COVER-UP (onder-cover) using a volnurable situation/nation/government to continue his business. Look at how many names are being called, God knows how many of these people are innocent or were forced to do things they now regret. is that one calls help.
the worst situations and the KEY WORD is UNITY.tHE LEADERS OF GUYANA should be PROUD to have the leadership
of such a warm beautiful and rich country, but then again sence of value is lacking its like throwing pearls to a swine
I don’t think anyone can provide any evidence to show that the Gy Government had given permission to buy such equipment. In America you can buy almost anything. A few day ago I found rounds for Ak 47s rifles selling online. In fact people could buy more powerful rifles than the Ak 47. In addition, I found full body armors. And I bet no one knows about the bullet proof back packs that school kids can use. Can you purchase that legally in Guyana?This was made because of the violence in schools here in the U.S. Secondly, you can get information about a person, which includes, phone numbers, address, related family,etc, just for a fee of $20, (talk about liberty).
My point is Roger Khan could have the bought that piece of equipment without Gov’t help. Products are available at free will in America, just possess the finances. Ever wonder how those recent school killers got their weapons; they got them at the regular, legal gun stores. Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale is a private company, which means that anyone can do business with them; yes, I did research it. And for peace sake people do some online research, as you would be surprise as to what you can buy.
“I don’t think anyone can provide any evidence to show that the Gy Government had given permission to buy such equipment. In America you can buy almost anything. A few day ago I found rounds for Ak 47s rifles selling online.” – INXS
According to the report, “US drug accused Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan purchased computer telephonic surveillance equipment from the Spy Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with permission from the Guyana government, according to Khan’s defence attorney.”
So, is the attorney accusing RK, or is RK accusing the government?
that is one reason for blogging, we learn from each other
not every one has the time to do research due to time difference or mainly working hours and house-hold chores I am greatful for every bit of news or information concerning guyana because I am one who has very little time on my hand
Roger Khan needs a way of defending himself, so why now involve the Government. He claimed that he helped in the freeing of the American Diplomat. He also claimed that he fed information to the U.S embassy. All of this is/was being denied, so why don’t people think that he did work with the U.S embassy and also helped in freeing the diplomat, in the same way that they believe the Gov’t help him purchase the equipment.
But it is analogous to people seeing what they want to see.
“people seeing what they want to see” includes yourself. I am sure.
Bung bang bang bang bang………..lmfao
mackydog , you do make sense about the RK issue!
As I have maintained, I am NOT in support of crime, corruption, violence, kidnapping, etc., likewise, I am not in support of the current Government! Neither am I satisfied with the current opposition. However, it’s sickening to the stomach to read of people’s approval of crime and race-laced issues in Guyana. That’s the main reason why Guyana can NEVER get better. It will always be a point of focus and a country to be talked about.
Look at the recent works done by the GPF! I am happy that they are trying to capture the dreaded “devil” that has been lurking and murking-up Guyana for a while back. But it’s mind baffling and mentally depressing when you know that the GPF itself is corrupted and biased in its activities for the well being of the country. What’s more annoying is the fact that the Government sees all of this, and more degrading scenarios that destabilize beautiful Guyana and plays a blind eye towards it all. How productive is that? What about the on going battle with the pnc and the ppp on issues that ultimately conceded to the race game? How beneficial/destructive was/is that?
I was never happy to leave Guyana for a country that’s not a part of me. However, with all of the above ongoing issues, incorporated with RACE, I had no choice in doing the inevitable and settling down in an environment without ongoing “issues” to encounter on a daily basis.
“However, it’s sickening to the stomach to read of people’s approval of crime and race-laced issues in Guyana.”
blueboyy2k, people’s approval of crime? you have lost your mind!!!
Look, as far as i see it, when a bullet flies, it doesn’t have a name. Anyone and everyone is vulnerable to being robbed/murder in Guyana or anywhere else in this world.
Oh, so there’s no RACE issues in the US? Come on, be for real!
but is how come the US didn’t capture RK before 2006 even though he was in full view and they knew he was wanted there?