City businessman Azruddin Mohamed last night said that one of his competitors in the gold industry – who he did not name is the driving force behind the allegations levelled against him and other members of the Guyana Police Force by Police Sergeant Dion Bascom.

In a statement, issued on his Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, Mohamed said that Bascom and the gold dealer share close relations since the former was integral in the setting up of a security service for the latter.

“This so-called gold dealer happens to be a close friend of the detective who recently came out with some damning revelations about coverups evidence in the murder of a friend of ours. That very policeman was the one who assisted to establish his security service and who would have worked with him during his annual vacation - this is well known to hundreds of people,” the statement related.

Bascom, during a Facebook live video on Thursday, accused Deputy Head of the Guyana Police Force’s Major Crimes Unit of covering up the murder of Ricardo Fagundes on March 21st last year. The allegations have since triggered a probe by the police force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

In a live broadcast seen by Stabroek News, Bascom, who said he had been a member of the GPF for 12 years, voiced his frustration at being used by the force without receiving any credit for his work. He also said he was tired of hidden corrupt practices involving senior members within the force. It was against this background that he cited the Fagundes case.

Fagundes, who was a close friend of convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan, was riddled with bullets by two men outside of the Palm Court on the evening of Sunday, March 21, last year. At the time of the attack, he was approaching a parked vehicle owned by Khan.

An autopsy later confirmed that Fagundes was shot about 20 times about his body. Khan would later say he was the intended target of the attack. The police recovered 30 spent shells at the scene. Sixteen were from an AK-47 rifle, while the other fourteen were from a 9mm gun. To date, the murder remains unsolved. Bascom said that a key investigator received a huge bribe to shelve the investigation. Legal notices have since been sent to Bascom to withdraw the allegations or face prosecution.

In his statement, posted just after the Police held a press conference yesterday to explain why Bascom’s allegations are unfounded (see story on page 10), Mohamed said Fagundes was a friend of his family and that his father – Nazar Mohamed – was instrumental in the financing of Fagundes’ businesses.

He added that his competitor was involved in a dispute with Nazar over some lands as well.

“Meanwhile, concerning ‘Paper Shorts’. I must say that he was a friend of ours through the racing fraternity. He was well-known to my father since he assisted him financially. We also assisted him to establish his pawn shop and restaurant and also financed his safari trips.

Lingers

“The question lingers, why would I want to harm him or matter in fact, any human? Let us not be judgmental but instead review the video of the shooting incident and you will see that there is a difference between the shooter and the private security who was implicated in the recording released by the detective a few days ago,” the younger Mohamed said.

Mohamed said that he does not indulge in “hanky panky business” and urged persons to “understand the genesis of this plan” to frame him.

Mohamed, through his lawyers, has already written to Bascom informing him to withdraw allegations made against him or he will be slapped with legal proceedings. However, Bascom has lawyered up and is not backing down from his position. He has also, through his attorney Nigel Hughes, requested the President’s intervention to be granted state protection under the Protected Disclosures Act of 2018. (See story on page three.)

In Thursday’s live video, which went viral before it was deleted, Bascom, a police sergeant, said he was one of the officers who arrived at the scene following the shooting of Fagundes, known as ‘Paper Shorts.’ According to Bascom, an individual who was employed as private security for a city businessman was identified as the prime suspect in the murder.

In that regard, Mohamed has since debunked the claim saying “the security officer is medium-built. Make your judgment and do not be fooled by some gullible media entities that reported on everything except the facts.”

According to Bascom, he and other officers were able to track the phone used by the prime suspect and the calls he made before and after the shooting.

Bascom alleges that a police officer received $30 million as a bribe to bury the matter.

His decision to go public came in wake of his recent arrest in connection with a drug bust and what he described as mistreatment that he and other ranks have faced while serving the GPF.

Bascom was among five persons who were arrested on Monday, August 8, after a search by the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) unearthed parcels of cocaine at a Norton Street, Georgetown premises.

Two individuals, Akeem Lashley and Bascom’s friend Andre Clarke were charged on Thursday over the drugs. Lashley claimed ownership of the drugs and was sentenced to four years in jail and fined while Clarke was released on $150,000 bail. Bascom and the two others who were detained at the premises were released from custody without being charged.