Ricardo Rodrigues who was recently arrested in connection with an arms cache which was discovered at Lethem was earlier this afternoon shot and killed at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club at the corner of Thomas Lands and Albert Street, his lawyer Glen Hanoman has confirmed.
The details surrounding the shooting are unclear but according to Hanoman, Rodrigues was in the restaurant when he was shot. Three persons are said to have been injured in the shooting.
Contacted Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said that he could not immediately confirm that it was Rodrigues who was killed. “I just know that someone was shot and killed. I don’t know who but the police are there now.”
Rodrigues was an associate of convicted drug lord Roger Khan.
One day after the police issued a wanted bulletin for him and a cousin identified as Clive King, Rodrigues turned himself over to the police. He was held for the night and then released on station bail.
The Police provided their version of events at 7 pm.
In a release they said “At about 1500h today Monday October 15, 2012, Ricardo Rodrigues, 41 years of Bel Air Gardens, was at the GMRSC compound at Albert Street, Georgetown, when an armed man entered and opened fire in his direction. Ricardo Rodrigues was hit about the body and was pronounced DOA at the GPHC.
“Aubrey Henry, 35 years of Alberttown, was injured in both legs, while Michael Hupchenson, 42 years, was hit to his right arm and right foot and Jean Le Blanc was shot to his right hip. They are receiving medical attention at the GPHC.
“The police recovered a number of spent shells from the scene as the investigations continue.”
A Partnership for National Unity this afternoon expressed concern over the killing. It said “Mr. Rodrigues has been a ‘person of interest’ to law-enforcement agencies for most of the past decade. He has been mentioned in connection with criminal activities, most recently, the discovery of a large arms cache in the Rupununi.
“At the time of his execution, Rodrigues surprisingly, had been placed on station bail. A Partnership for National Unity would like to see due process in order to learn more about the crimes of gun-running and narco-trafficking. APNU feels that extra-judicial executions should not be allowed to replace legitimate law-enforcement measures if criminal cartels are to be discovered, dismantled and destroyed.
“Brigadier David Granger, Leader of APNU, stated that the execution of Mr. Rodrigues exposes the weakness of public security under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration. APNU once again calls for the removal of Mr. Clement Rohee as the Minister of Home Affairs and his replacement by someone capable of suppressing crime, enforcing the law and preserving this country’s security.”
On October 1, police raided a house at Tabatinga, Lethem and found four automatic rifles along with four magazines and 389 rounds of 7.62×39 calibre ammunition; six M-16 rifles along with two magazines and 74 matching rounds; two shrapnel hand grenades; one Icon VHF radio set; one Icon hand-held radio set; and one roll of camouflage material. Observers say that the weapons were clear indicators of the flourishing arms and drugs trade particularly over the Brazilian frontier.
The execution-style killing of Rodrigues was reminiscent of others here where local hired killers or hit-men from abroad do the job. The Police have had little success with solving these killings.
Rodrigues had been a perennial target of major police investigations including murders but always managed to escape charges.
