Cops were aware Davendra Persaud killing was drug-related – source

-but had no evidence

Roger KhanDavendra Persaud

In the backdrop of allegations in a US court that drug-indicted businessman Roger Khan had ordered the slaying of cyclist Davendra Persaud, a police source here says they were aware that the killing was related to narcotics but had no evidence.

Local police had previously never mentioned a drug tie during the investigation of Persaud’s murder back in 2004, but police sources said such information was available to investigators from the beginning. Persaud’s execution, like many others in recent years, has gone unsolved by the police and with very little information on the motive behind it.

At the time of Persaud’s killing, Khan was yet to publicly declare himself a crime fighter as he did in mid-2006, but he was suspected to be involved in drug trafficking and had already faced the courts over having in his possession a cache of arms and ammunition in 2002.

Speaking to Stabroek News on Friday, a police officer who was close to the