The Guyana Defence Force today said that it has noted the front page headline in the December 28 edition of the state-owned Guyana Chronicle titled, `Yupukari cocaine plane – Army, police officers fingered.’
“While the Force will not comment on the article itself, it finds the headline erroneous. The Force therefore takes this opportunity to caution that newspapers exercise due diligence and social responsibility when crafting headlines of this nature. These misleading headlines tend to give the impression of ranks being directly involved in illegal activities”, the GDF said.
It added that it remains available to engage news editors and reporters on any issue involving its ranks.
The Guyana Police Force issued the following statement on the matter.
The Guyana Police Force is responding to an article in today’s Edition of the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper under the caption “…YUPUKARI cocaine plane: ARMY, POLICE OFFICERS FINGERED”.
The Guyana Police Force denies that the Commission’s Report on the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the circumstances, in which a foreign aircraft entered Guyana, indicates that any of its officers were involved (fingered) in the operations of the illegal aircraft.
The report did recommend that a Police Officer be disciplined for use of excessive force on a civilian during the course of the inquiry and not for any act prior to the discovery of the aircraft.
The Guyana Police Force wishes to caution Media Houses of the implications for publishing misleading “Headlines” and other information in order to sensationalize its reporting.
