Gladwin Samuels removed as Director of Prisons

Gladwin Samuels, will not be returning to head the Guyana Prison Service this was disclosed by him in a press release to the media.
Samuels  said he was instructed on December 14th last year to proceed on his accumulated 132 days annual vacation leave. However with his vacation leave set to end on Sunday, April 25 he wrote the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn notifying him of his expected return.

Yesterday, Friday, April 23 he was notified via letter that he will not be returning to his substantive post but instead he will be taking up the post of Assistant Coordinator of People Smuggling. This new reassignment takes effect on Monday, April 26th on a full-time basis until further notice and that he is not expected to report to Minister Benn to be appraised of his duties.

Samuels said he was thankful for the support and cooperation he received from the Joint Services, the Prison Service, members of the public and the media during his tenure as head of the prisons.
Samuels removal as head of the prison service is similar to that of several senior and qualified police officers who have been seconded to other agencies when the governing People’s Progressive Party came to power.
Presently Nicklon Elliot is the acting head of the Guyana Prison Service.
 Attorney-at-Law Selwyn Pieters is providing legal advice to Samuels on the matter.

ExxonMobil confirms 14 staff tested positive for COVID-19

ExxonMobil’s press statement on fourteen of its staff testing positive for COVID-19.
We can confirm that 14 rotational workers supporting our operations offshore Guyana have tested positive for COVID-19. All are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms at this time.
These individuals have been appropriately isolated to limit the spread of the virus. Eleven remain in isolation on the Noble Tom Madden, and three have been transferred to appropriate isolation facilities onshore under the care and custody of their employer.
If necessary, plans are in place to safely transport the remaining positive workers onshore.
Safe and healthy workplaces remains a top priority for ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors.
We have well-established processes in place to manage impacts related to infectious disease outbreaks, which have allowed us to identify these cases early.
In [April] 2020, ExxonMobil Guyana established COVID-19 prevention screening facilities in country and abroad to safely manage rotators coming in and departing the country.
Since this arrangement began, we successfully transferred more than ten thousand persons without a positive case offshore.
There are medical personnel onboard our offshore facilities and they are taking necessary precautions to monitor the health of the workers and provide appropriate treatment and care.
Operations at our six drill ships and the Liza Destiny FPSO remain unaffected at this time.

Seven juveniles escape holding centre, four recaptured

The Guyana Police Force is in search of three young men who escaped the Sophia Juvenile Centre in the wee hours of the morning today.

The police in a press statement said between 2:30 and 2:40 seven juveniles escaped the centre however after an alarm was raised three were recaptured immediately. One was returned facility by the mother at 7hrs. However, three remain at large.

Juveniles, charged and before the courts with certain offences are held there until the completion of their trials

Twenty-five year old Charlestown man gunned down, Police issued wanted bulletin for suspect

Dead is  Odingo Anthony Haywood  Lot 2 Drysdale Street, Charlestown. The Police are reporting that their  preliminary inquiry revealed that the  incident emanated from a dispute between the two men over an alleged robbery committed by ‘Biggie’ on a victim who was known to the deceased.

The 25-year-old who lived with grandmother was shot dead not far from his home in  Drysdale Street, Charlestown.

Meanwhile, the Police have issued a wanted bulletin for Lenroy Michael Forde. The Police say he is wanted for murder committed on Odingo Anthony Haywood which occurred last night.

According to the Police anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Lenroy Michael Forde is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 227-2603, 226-6978, 911 or the nearest police station.

All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Two in custody for cocaine and marijuana bust

Two men are in custody following a drug bust in the city by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit Tuesday afternoon in the city.

The arrested suspects were identified as Daquan Wills, age 25 years of 141 Meadow Brook Drive and Joel Fung-A-Fat 39 years of 342 Foreshaw Street Georgetown and of a US address. Wills was the driver of the intercepted maroon Nissan Juke bearing license plate PVV 6706 while, Fung-A-Fat was the passenger.

According to a release from the drug enforcement agency, its ranks conducted an operation in Georgetown where several targets including the maroon Nissan Juke were under surveillance.

CANU said when ranks attempted to interdict the said vehicle, it sped away and ranks gave chase. The car was intercepted at Lance Gibbs Street and Vlissengen Road Georgetown. During the chase a brick of suspected cocaine was thrown from the vehicle and the same was retrieved by CANU ranks. The suspected cocaine had a weight of 1.054 kg just over 2lb.

Daquan Wills and Joel Fung-A-Fat were the lone occupants of the said vehicle. CANU ranks following that interception then swooped down on a location in Stone Avenue Campbellville where they conducted a search of an abandoned range house. There they found concealed among garbage another brick of suspected cocaine and a bag containing bulk parcels of suspected cannabis. The suspected cocaine brick weighted 1.048kg or just over 2 pounds, while the suspected cannabis weighed 17.956kg, 40pounds. The investigations are ongoing.