Three deaths leave questions and no answers

Who was responsible for the deaths of Ricardo Rodrigues, his bodyguard Marlon Osborne and Canadian Jean Le Blanc and why?
The questions linger months after their deaths and while investigators may have hunches, no one seems to be in a hurry to find the answers.

Although recently Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said investigations were continuing, Stabroek News was told that since the arrest of the “usual suspects” in the wake of the killings, no one else had been detained.

A police source told Stabroek News that investigators are done with the deaths. “The police, they done with that; they see those killings as a hit and that is it,” the source said, adding that because of Rodrigues’ background and who he was linked to, investigators would want to distance themselves from the case for their personal safety.

The source pointed out that if one checks the list of high-profile killings, including those involving persons connected to the underworld, it would be noted that hardly any of these cases are solved. According to the source, because of who these persons were, investigators look to protect themselves first even though in most instances they have an idea of who committed the crime and the reason behind it.

“I guess that the police would rather lock the files up in a safe and throw away the keys. People know what went down,” a source said, while insisting that the police do not intend on following them up.

Based on the reports received by this newspaper, the deaths of all three men are linked and may have been prompted by the discovery of a large cache of arms buried in a yard at Lethem. The main suspect in the stockpiling of the arms is still at-large and it is believed that he is hiding out in neighbouring Brazil.
Rodrigues, who had been a close associate of convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan and a suspect in many high-profile crimes, was the first to be killed. On October 15, he was gunned down as he sat with friends inside the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) compound on Albert Street. Eyewitnesses recalled seeing a group of gunmen walking in and opening fire at him.

Stabroek News was told that the men came in from the main gate, running and as they ran they pulled their masks over their faces. Rodrigues, eyewitnesses said, made an attempt to scamper to safety but failed.

Rodrigues, also called ‘Fatman,’ died on the spot while GMR&SC gym instructor Aubrey Henry, 35, Jamaican Michael Hopkinson and Le Blanc, 62, were shot and wounded. The trio was admitted to hospital. Henry and Hopkinson were later discharged while Le Blanc remained hospitalised for a gunshot wound to the buttocks.

Rodrigues, a Bel Air resident had days before been released from police custody after being questioned about the Lethem discovery.
Twelve days after the Rodrigues execution, Le Blanc, who appeared as though he was recovering from his injury, suddenly lapsed into a coma and died.
In the days prior, Le Blanc, who also fractured his hip when he dove for cover after the gunmen opened fire, was said to be recovering well. Hospital officials had said he was out of danger after the bullet was safely removed from his buttocks during emergency surgery. His death left both police and hospital officials shocked.

Although Le Blanc had denied knowing Rodrigues and maintained that he stopped at the sports club for a drink, well-placed sources told this newspaper that the Canadian was in Guyana for a transaction with Rodrigues, whom he knew from previous visits. Sources said he was here at the behest of Rodrigues and had been asked to provide backdated receipts for communication devices sold to him back in 2003. He was also said to be acquainted with Khan.

His death immediately fuelled suspicions that he was poisoned but the post-mortem examination failed to ascertain this. Samples were taken from his body to conduct toxicology tests but to date police officials have been unable to say what has become of those samples.

Acting Police Commis-sioner Leroy Brumell, when asked about this issue last December, could not say where the samples were. He did, however, insist that it is members of the Guyana Police Force and not Cana-dian authorities who were investigating Le Blanc’s death.

One source said that it was strange that he just happened to be in the same place with Rodrigues, got shot and then died from an injury that was not considered life threatening. The source also questioned why the Canadians were showing disinterest in the case, especially when one of their own citizens was killed.

Another source said that from all indications, Le Blanc was “bad news” and in a bid to protect his family, deliberate attempts were made not to investigate certain things. The source said that investigations into Le Blanc’s life might have had too many implications in that they would have exposed illegal activities and persons of high social standing.

Meanwhile, two weeks after Rodrigues’ murder, Osborne, who had been part of Rodrigues’ security detail for some time, was gunned down as he was leaving a residence in Laluni Street, Queenstown. Sources said the shooting was linked to a “weapons for drugs” trade that went sour as a result of the discovery of the weapons in Lethem. There was also a suggestion that Rodrigues might have revealed things he ought not to the police during questioning.

Speaking on the death of Osborne, the police source said he was more than likely killed because of what he knew. Stabroek News was told that he might have had information about the Lethem arms cache and a plan was hatched to kill him to ensure no leaks. The killers, the source said, so badly wanted him dead that they did not care when and where they had to riddle him with bullets. The shooting occurred early afternoon just before rush hour traffic in a residential area in the heart of the city.