On Wednesday 26th September, I saw a young man ride past me with a knife in his waist in Zeelugt. I paid him no interest but a few seconds later I heard argument and saw that a crowd had gathered at the corner away from where I was standing. I did not venture there but when the noise had quieted down and the crowd started to dwindle, a little boy that I saw there passed me. I enquired about what had happened and he told me that the young man that I saw and his common-law wife went to the corner and started to verbally abuse and threaten two other young men.
Further questioning revealed that the woman accused the young men of selling illegal drugs at the corner and said that she will send the police to raid and harass them. Upon hearing that I started to laugh because, almost everyone in the village knows that the same woman is selling illegal drugs also.
Since the incident, I started to tell my friends that weren’t around about it when I see them and the things that they had to say were very disturbing. It seems that they are all afraid to say anything.
According to one of them, the woman’s threat should not be taken lightly because she has a lot of friends that are police and most of them are from the infamous Leonora Police Station.
I asked him if he had proof of that and he said that if I need proof just go and lime near to her house. He said almost every day police could be seen visiting her and they would be going with the police vehicle and in uniform. He also said some CID ranks and senior police also frequent there.
Apart from him Editor, one drug user said that sometimes he would just purchase drugs or might be smoking it near and the police would come same time and they don’t get arrested, all the police would say is ‘beat out’ leaving them with their drugs.
Editor, Zeelugt is one of the most populated if not the most in Region 3 and use of illegal drugs amongst the youth in that area has risen tremendously and so have the sellers. I cannot recall the last time CANU raided that area, but a Rural Constable said that whenever a raid is about to be conducted, the woman gets a tip off and she never gets caught.
Editor, it is no secret that the Guyana Police Force has a lot of corrupt police officers and they have become so barefaced that their actions have caused the whole force to have a bad name.
Based on what I read from the Commission of Inquiry from the Linden killings, all the police that gave testimony along with the video footage reveal that the protestors heckled, insulted and in some cases threw missiles at the police during the protest.
I am saying that if the public had respect for the Guyana Police Force, they would never have been treated that way.
Recently, the Acting Commissioner gave an ultimatum for all the corrupt ones to submit their badges, to date I haven’t heard anything else of that issue.
If he is really serious, I am appealing to him to start an investigation at the Leonora Police Station. The action of police from that station causes Commanders to be embarrassed, transferred and their record blemished, whilst the corrupt officers
remain there and in some cases get promoted.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address supplied)
