Private security guards positively identified in liquor theft -GRA

As promised in its press release (Six Million Dollar worth of seized liquor discovered stolen) issued on Thursday May 28, 2015, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) today provided an update on the investigations into the larceny committed on the Agency’s Warehouse facility at Eccles.

The GRA’s State Warehouse at Eccles, East Bank Demerara
The GRA’s State Warehouse at Eccles, East Bank Demerara

The privately contracted security firm, Professional Guard Services (PGS), having received and reviewed the security footage of the activities at GRA’s Warehouse facility, has positively identified personnel from its service as being actively involved in the criminal act, the GRA said today. The suspects have since named their accomplices. The said personnel were questioned in the presence of their Supervisors, Officers from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and staff of the GRA’s Law Enforcement and

Investigation Division(LEID). They were subsequently placed in police custody, the GRA said.

The GRA said it continues to hold PGS responsible for the loss and is awaiting the necessary response before considering further action. It said that GRA’s Internal Audit Division is currently engaged in a comprehensive audit of the warehouse to determine whether other thefts may have occurred and to ascertain possible weaknesses in the system of internal control that could have contributed to, and prevented a more timely disclosure of such occurrences.
The external Auditors, the State Auditors have also been briefed of the situation.