The matter was prevously scheduled to continue on Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22, before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

Sheriff News Network is not yet aware of the reason for the postponement but has made inquiries with the relevant officials and is awaiting clarification.

The proceedings began on January 6, 2026, when the prosecution tendered documents supporting the United States’ request for the father and son to be surrendered to face criminal charges.

The two witnesses who have testified are Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch Unit.

Roopchand-Edwards gave evidence concerning the receipt and handling of the US extradition request and accompanying diplomatic documents, while Narine testified about the arrest of the Mohameds and matters connected to the police operation.

The prosecution previously indicated that additional witnesses could be called, including Detective Superintendent of Police Rodwell Sarrabo and Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd.

The United States is seeking the extradition of the two men to face an 11-count federal indictment in Florida.

The charges include wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and customs-related offences arising from an alleged scheme involving Guyanese gold exports.

US prosecutors allege that, between 2017 and June 2024, the Mohameds participated in a scheme involving falsified customs declarations and the reuse of government export seals to evade more than US$50 million in taxes and royalties on gold exports.

A separate indictment against Azruddin Mohamed alleges that he arranged for a luxury Lamborghini to be shipped from Miami to Guyana using an invoice that understated its purchase price, resulting in the alleged evasion of more than US$1 million in taxes.

Both men have denied the allegations.

The committal proceedings will determine whether the evidence meets the legal threshold for the case to proceed under Guyana’s extradition process.

The Chief Magistrate remains barred from making a final determination until the Court of Appeal resolves the Mohameds’ constitutional challenge to provisions of the extradition law.

Both men remain on $150,000 bail each pending the extradition hearing, subject to conditions requiring them to surrender their passports and report weekly to the Ruimveldt Police Station.

The Mohameds are represented by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, and attorneys-at-law Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva.

The United States is represented by Jamaican King’s Counsel Terrence Williams, Jamaican attorneys-at-law Herbert McKenzie and Celine Deidrick, and Guyanese attorney Glenn Hanoman, who appears on behalf of the prosecution.

Addressing the issue on his weekly Issues in the News programme, Nandlall said motorists and members of the media had sought clarification about how outstanding electronic tickets should be handled.

“The police ought not to detain the vehicle for an unpaid ticket. The police need to go against the driver or the owner,” he said.

“The vehicle has not committed the offence. It is the driver and or the owner that must answer for the charge.”

Nandlall specifically addressed situations in which a person is driving a vehicle with outstanding tickets but was not involved in the offences that generated them.

“So if I am driving a vehicle and that vehicle has tickets, because the vehicle will be captured, and there are outstanding tickets to be paid, and I am not implicated, then the vehicle ought not to be detained,” he explained.

According to the Attorney General, police must pursue the person identified in the ticket or notice, with the court providing a process for determining who was driving when the alleged offence occurred.

He explained that the electronic ticketing system initially relies on information about the vehicle’s registered owner, rather than details of every person who may drive it.

When a camera captures a ticketable offence, the notification process therefore begins with the registered owner. Nandlall outlined procedures involving an SMS alert and an electronic notice containing details of the alleged offence and the relevant court appearance.

He also referred to provisions for service through registered post and personal delivery by a police officer.

Where the registered owner was not driving, Nandlall said that person should explain this when appearing before the magistrate and identify the driver. He said the magistrate could then summon that individual to join the proceedings as a co-defendant.

The court would determine responsibility if the allegation is contested.

Nandlall further explained that a person who accepts the offence can pay the ticket through the magistrate’s court clerk rather than appear before the magistrate to contest it.

While expressing confidence in the electronic ticketing system, he said greater public understanding of its procedures was necessary.

“If you don’t know what the law says, then it’s difficult to expect you to obey the law,” he said.

He directed motorists to the 2024 amendments governing electronic ticketing, which he said were published in the Official Gazette of July 15, 2024.

Responding to questions about the Berbice case, Ali described the incident as atrocious and said crimes of that nature demanded serious consideration of measures beyond imprisonment.

“The death penalty is something that we have to look at. If we want to really send a strong signal, I believe that, you know, we really need to look at this,” the President said.

Asked directly whether the stronger punishment he had in mind was the death penalty, Ali replied: “One hundred percent.”

His comments followed the recovery of Orlando’s decomposed body from a canal near the sea dam at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, early Tuesday. The child had been reported missing on October 14.

Police identified his father, Bharrat Jaikarran, as the main suspect. The father had allegedly confessed to killing the child, while Region Five Commander, Senior Superintendent Lonsdale Whithrite, confirmed that information provided by him led investigators to the body. The reported confession has not been tested in court.

Ali said the case had weighed heavily on him and that he had requested a careful examination of responses to heinous crimes, including outstanding matters involving people who had committed offences of an “unthinkable nature”.

He acknowledged that consideration of capital punishment raised human rights concerns.

“We are, of course, very cognisant of the human rights issues and challenges,” he said. “We have always kept our development and our thoughts within the confines of human rights.”

Nevertheless, the President argued that some crimes struck at the foundations of society and required a response that clearly demonstrated such conduct would not be tolerated.

He stressed that the judicial process must take its course.

“Of course, the judicial system has to work. But when the judicial system works and we have crimes like these, we must be able to utilise a stronger measure if we are to send a stronger signal to society,” Ali said.

When asked whether he meant a stronger measure than jail time, the President responded: “Of course.”

Ali said he had received numerous messages and read public comments calling for tougher punishment. He added that his own position was that a stronger response should be seriously considered.

“And I personally believe that a stronger signal should be sent also,” he said.

Speaking on the Energy Perspectives Podcast, Reid said many small and medium-sized enterprises need financing to expand but lack the assets required to secure loans.

She called for greater consideration of the projects entrepreneurs want to pursue, rather than relying so heavily on the security they can provide.

“The banking system here in Guyana, they want collateral. Now, small, medium-sized might not have that collateral. If you don’t have that, they won’t give you the loan,” Reid said.

The Chamber President, who also operates a construction and procurement company, said the issue affects many businesses in Berbice.

“But I think the bank needs to revise that because it really stymied the small and medium-sized business from growing,” she added.

Reid welcomed the government’s development-bank initiative as a potential source of support for entrepreneurs unable to meet conventional lending requirements. However, she maintained that commercial banks also needed to reconsider their approach.

“I think what they should do is invest in projects,” she said, arguing against requiring collateral for every financing request.

In her view, initial financing could help entrepreneurs establish operations or expand an existing business. As those businesses develop assets, infrastructure and a record of profitability, they would be better positioned to approach traditional banks for further funding.

Reid’s appeal was informed by her own experience of trying to secure credit while building her company.

She recalled starting with a $200,000 contract and repeatedly putting earnings back into the business. Several banks initially declined to finance her, she said, before one eventually approved a $5 million overdraft.

That facility later increased to $15 million as the business grew.

Reid said repaying loans, maintaining relationships and delivering work to a high standard helped her establish a track record with the bank.

Her message to entrepreneurs was that access to financing must be accompanied by discipline in how money is used.

“I think too many times we’re looking for short-term gain. We got to look at it at the long term,” she said.

She encouraged business owners to reinvest, maintain proper records and separate the desire for immediate returns from the work needed to build a sustainable company.

Reid also identified financial management as a weakness among some businesses, particularly where owners handle operations without a clear understanding of profit, margins and capital.

She said the Chamber was offering financial literacy courses through the Small Business Bureau to help address that gap.

For entrepreneurs considering their next move, Reid advised building on existing skills and improving the services they already provide, rather than assuming that everyone must enter construction or become an oil-sector supplier.

“Look at what you’re good at, what you’re already doing. How can you make this better?” she said.
14:13

By 5 a.m. on July 19, a combined rescue effort had brought 69 people to safety. A fishing vessel that independently joined the operation rescued 11 passengers, while the responding agencies worked under a single command.

The accounts emerged during public hearings at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where seven witnesses testified about searches by sea and air and the recovery of the vessel’s emergency distress beacon. Their appearances brought the number of witnesses heard by the Commission to 21.

Petty Officer Jeromey Agard, who commanded Coast Guard vessel GDFS 1034, described finding survivors in small groups, holding on to wooden pallets, oil containers and life jackets.

His six-member crew reached the search area shortly after 3 a.m., joining another Coast Guard vessel from the Pomeroon Floating Base that was already recovering people.

Agard said his team slowed the vessel, swept the water with a searchlight and reduced engine noise to help locate those calling for assistance.

The crew used ropes and life rings to draw survivors alongside the vessel before lifting them aboard at the stern. By about 5 a.m., they had rescued 26 people, including children, who were later transferred to a pilot vessel.

None of the 26 was wearing a life jacket when recovered, Agard told the Commission.

Aircraft also supported the operation. Major Lloyden Layne testified that the Guyana Defence Force’s Air Corps deployed a Bell 407 helicopter and an Islander aircraft on successive reconnaissance missions. He departed Eugene F. Correia International Airport aboard the Islander after the helicopter returned from its earlier flight.

At sea, three Maritime Administration Department vessels spread out to cover a wider search area.

Captain Anthony Williams, who commanded the motor tug Arau, said the vessels travelled approximately one to one-and-a-half nautical miles apart to increase coverage and limit duplication.

Arau was the last of the three to leave Georgetown. Its crew encountered clothing, bags, cooking gas cylinders and approximately two or three empty life rafts, but did not recover survivors.

Williams said other vessels were conducting rescues and confirmed that Arau’s Automatic Identification System, which provides vessel-position information, was functioning.

Under questioning about how searched areas were recorded and communicated, however, he acknowledged that coordination among the three vessels was informal. Information about the completed sweep was not passed beyond that group.

The Commission also heard from MARAD Marine Superintendent Christopher Bailey, who recovered the Barima’s Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon during the search.

Bailey said a faint light drew his attention between approximately 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. The beacon was floating on its own, separate from life rafts or other debris, about three to four nautical miles from the initial coordinates he had received.

He retrieved the device and said it deactivated immediately after being brought aboard.

Bailey explained that the beacon was intended to transmit distress signals and suggested that its float-free mechanism most likely released it from its housing when the vessel sank.

He described having seen a waterproof beacon housing on the starboard side of the Barima’s wheelhouse during an earlier inspection. However, he could not confirm that the recovered device was the same one he had previously observed.

A photograph of the beacon was presented during the hearing. Bailey said he later handed the device to Captain John Flores at the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre.

Neermala:
The five-member Commission is investigating the circumstances of the Barima’s capsizing and sinking, including questions of accountability and measures needed to improve maritime safety.

Public hearings are continuing in the Lula Room of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal.

Appearing on the Energy Perspectives Podcast, Reid urged local firms to prepare for more demanding work by formalising their operations, obtaining relevant certifications and developing partnerships that bring technical expertise.

She said business owners should begin that preparation before opportunities arrive.

Some enterprises, she noted, still operate without basic registration or supporting documentation, while skilled tradespeople may have practical experience but lack recognised qualifications.

“Documentation is very important,” Reid said.

She encouraged businesses to obtain the necessary licences and certificates, conduct audits and ensure their companies are properly registered. Those steps, she argued, would improve their ability to attract larger clients and meet procurement requirements.

Reid pointed to the difference between hiring someone informally because they are known to perform plumbing or electrical work and engaging a professional who can demonstrate recognised qualifications.

She urged tradespeople to use available technical training to support their experience with certification.

The Chamber President said her own company was undergoing an ISO certification process as part of efforts to qualify for more demanding opportunities. Although certification can be expensive, she described it as an investment worth considering.

Her concern, she explained, was reaching the point where a suitable opportunity becomes available but the business cannot participate because it lacks a required standard or credential.

Reid cited a request for information she had seen for an operator of the Berbice training school. The requirements, she said, illustrated the level of technical capability needed for some major assignments.

She suggested that partnerships could help local businesses develop the expertise necessary to compete.

“I want businesses in Berbice to either join with an international company or join forces together and bring up those standards so we can compete on that level,” Reid said.

She also called for businesses to move beyond concentrating on labour, security and janitorial services and prepare for more technical and operational roles.

That transition, she said, would require learning from experienced companies, investing in training and building the ability to perform more sophisticated work.

However, Reid stressed that a partnership should provide meaningful involvement for the local business, including access to decision-making and opportunities to acquire knowledge.

“I want to be on the board, I want to be in the decision making,” she said.

According to Reid, the Chamber has been helping members explore partnerships through engagements with the United States Embassy’s commercial representatives. She also pointed to meetings with ExxonMobil representatives about business opportunities and preparation for anticipated developments in Berbice.

Alongside technical qualifications, Reid identified financial management as an area requiring attention. She said the Chamber was offering financial literacy courses through the Small Business Bureau to help owners better understand their businesses.

Even small operators, she emphasised, need reliable records, proper documentation and tax compliance.

“It might be a small business, but record keeping is important,” she said.

Reid urged firms to use the preparation period to improve how they operate, arguing that Berbice’s economic potential would only translate into stronger local participation if businesses were ready to meet the requirements of prospective clients.

Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast, Rodrigues said the bureau’s loan guarantee programme helps entrepreneurs secure financing by covering a portion of the collateral required by banks and other private financial institutions.

The programme supports loans of up to $30 million, providing a route to financing for businesses that need assistance meeting lenders’ security requirements.

“We have supported 177 small businesses to access those loans that are up to $30 million, and I think at a total value of $1.6 billion in the last six years. And by the way, more than 50% of these businesses are women owned,” Rodrigues said.

According to the SBB’s published guidelines, its Credit Guarantee Programme offers collateral coverage of up to 40 per cent for first-time borrowers and up to 70 per cent for repeat borrowers. Republic Bank Guyana Limited and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited are the participating institutions responsible for approving and disbursing the loans.

Applicants must be registered with the bureau and provide supporting documents, including business registration, tax identification and valid Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme compliance documents. The process includes an assessment and business site visit by the SBB before referral to a participating bank.

Rodrigues said financing was one part of the bureau’s wider support for entrepreneurs, which also includes training, assistance with standards and opportunities to showcase products.

She pointed to an earlier grant programme through which close to 4,000 small businesses received grants worth almost $1 billion. She placed that support in the period between 2020 and 2023.

The minister also reported that 6,511 new small businesses had registered with the SBB since 2020. She cautioned that this figure reflected the bureau’s registrations, rather than every business established nationally during that period.

“I’m sure many more have been established in that time, but these are businesses that are registered with the Bureau,” she said.

Another area Rodrigues highlighted was sponsorship for participation in exhibitions. She said 493 businesses had received support to attend expos since 2020, helping them gain exposure and reach potential customers.

“It’s important for them to get that visibility because we want to grow our manufacturing sector and we want to grow our export sector,” she said.

Rodrigues said preparing businesses for larger markets required more than promoting their products. Owners also needed training, stronger business practices and assistance meeting national quality standards and compliance requirements.

“So while we promote small business at home, we’re helping them to really upscale their businesses so that they can compete,” she said.

The child’s body was discovered at approximately 01:00 hrs in the Sea Dam Canal at Water Street, Block D, Bath Settlement, days after he was reported missing by his father, Bharrat Jaikarran, who has reportedly confessed to killing him.

Region Five Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Lonsdale Whithrite, confirmed to the News Room that Bharrat provided investigators with information that led them to the location where the child’s body was found.

Police reportedly recovered the body after the father led investigators to the canal where he had allegedly disposed of it. The body was subsequently removed and taken to Bailey’s Funeral Home, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination.

The tragic discovery comes days after Orlando’s grandmother, Dhankumarie Gowkarran, disclosed that Bharrat contacted her on the morning of October 14 to report that the child was missing.

According to the grandmother, she questioned her son about whether he had harmed Orlando, but he denied doing so and insisted that he loved and cared for his children.

Orlando and his two brothers, aged seven and 10, had been living with their father. Their parents separated approximately two years ago, and their mother provides financial support for the children through the court system.

The circumstances surrounding Orlando’s death, including the motive behind the alleged killing, remain unclear as police continue their investigation.

Bharrat remains in police custody as investigators await the results of a post-mortem examination, which is expected to assist in determining the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.

At Monday’s hearing, McGusty said the prosecution had responded to no-case submissions filed by the defence, paving the way for her decision on whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed.

The submissions were filed on September 9 on behalf of Venezuelan nationals Jhonny Boodram and Alexander Bettencourt, and Guyanese-Venezuelan national Krystal LaCruz.

Bettencourt is represented by attorney Melvin Duke, Boodram by Mikel Puran, and LaCruz by Tifane Rutherford.

Venezuelan national Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, described by prosecutors as the alleged mastermind, did not file a submission.

His attorney, Shellon Boyce, previously told the court that her client would abide by the ruling.

The prosecution, led by Senior Police Advisor Mandel Moore, formally closed its case on July 8.

Its final submissions included video recordings, 43 photographs of the Mobil Service Station at the corner of Regent and King streets, witness statements, and forensic and DNA reports prepared by specialists in India.

Under the paper committal process, the magistrate examines documentary evidence to determine whether a prima facie case exists.

If the evidence is sufficient, the accused will be committed to stand trial in the High Court in Demerara; otherwise, they may be discharged.

Poedemo is charged under Section 3(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act with allegedly placing and detonating an explosive device to threaten Guyana’s security and sovereignty or terrorise the public.

Bettencourt, Boodram and LaCruz are charged with aiding and abetting the alleged terrorist act.

The charges stem from the October 26, 2025, explosion at the Mobil Service Station at the corner of Regent and King Streets in Georgetown, which killed six-year-old Soraya Bourne while she was inside a vehicle with relatives.

Several family members were injured, and nearby buildings and vehicles were damaged. All four accused remain on remand.

Three others were initially charged.

In April, Guyanese nationals Ramesh Pramdeo and Wayne Correia were discharged after Magistrate Alisha George upheld a no-case submission.

Their co-accused, Venezuelan national Jennifer Rodriguez, was committed to stand trial for aiding and abetting terrorism and remains on remand after being denied bail.

Investigators have alleged that Poedemo entered Guyana by boat from Venezuela hours before the bombing and admitted bringing the explosive device into the country.

Police also alleged that he identified himself as a member of the Venezuelan gang known as “Organisation R”.

The Government has indicated it intends to seek the death penalty against anyone convicted, as Guyana’s anti-terrorism laws provide for capital punishment where a terrorist act results in death.

The four accused remain on remand as they await McGusty’s November 10 ruling, which will determine whether they are committed to stand trial in the High Court or discharged for insufficient evidence.

The claims were filed in the High Court on Monday, through attorneys Sase Gunraj and Jayaram Sanasie. The company alleges that the publications falsely suggested its ownership was concealed and that it improperly benefited from police protection.

Against Azruddin Mohamed, Arimu is seeking more than $100 million in damages for defamation and more than $50 million in aggravated damages. The claim against Hana Mohamed seeks more than $50 million in each of those categories.

The company is also requesting exemplary damages, interest and costs in both proceedings, along with orders requiring the removal of the disputed material, apologies and retractions, and permanent injunctions against further defamatory publications.

The allegations in the filings are the company’s claims and have not been determined by the court.

The case against the Opposition Leader concerns remarks allegedly made at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on October 16, which were circulated on Facebook and TikTok, and a subsequent video published on his Facebook page on October 18.

According to the statement of claim, Mohamed questioned whether the Alphonso family owned the hotel only “on paperwork” and suggested that the “first family” had a beneficial ownership interest.

The filing also attributes to him claims that a police vehicle and approximately four officers had been stationed at the hotel around the clock for more than a year. Arimu alleges that those remarks portrayed the hotel as receiving preferential treatment at the expense of members of the public seeking police assistance.

The company rejects those assertions. In its claim against Mohamed, it identifies Clinton Alphonso, Lorenzo Alphonso and Geraldo Alphonso as its shareholders and says its ownership is a matter of public record.

Arimu further contends that the occasional presence of police officers and vehicles at the hotel forms part of security arrangements for visiting international dignitaries, foreign officials and other guests requiring protection. It denies benefiting from police resources in the manner alleged.

The separate action against Hana Mohamed concerns an October 16 Facebook post published under the name “Hana Khamelia”.

According to that filing, the post questioned the hotel’s beneficial ownership, described the alleged police deployment as a “Blatant abuse of state resources” and claimed that officers had been withdrawn after the Opposition Leader publicly raised the issue.

The company argues that the post, which included photographs associated with the hotel’s opening, suggested concealed ownership and improper access to public resources. It denies both implications.

In outlining the alleged harm, Arimu says the publications damaged its commercial reputation and goodwill and could undermine customer confidence, business relationships and future opportunities.

The claim against Azruddin Mohamed cites substantial online circulation, including more than 257,000 views on the Prime News Guyana Facebook page and more than 248,000 views on the Travis Chase page as of October 17. It also states that his October 18 video had attracted more than 102,000 views by October 19.

Arimu argues that the continued availability and potential republication of the material could prolong the alleged damage, warranting court orders in addition to monetary compensation.