Businessman perturbed over ‘Customs’ search

-says lost valuables

Friday, November 7, 2008

A businessman yesterday said valuables went missing from his Prashad Nagar home after five men, claiming to be Custom Officers, searched the premises without permission.

Up to yesterday, there was no word from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on this matter.
Azeem Baksh, the owner of the Delhi Street home, told this newspaper that he was not home at approximately 2 pm when the men without uniforms arrived. However, he passed by his house later and noticed strange men standing outside.

“I was passing here to go to Ogle,” Baksh explained. “That is when I saw four or five strange men in my yard and I stopped…One of the men identified himself as Liverpool and said that he was a custom officer.”

According to Baksh, the man who identified himself as Liverpool told him that they were searching his property because they had learnt that he had “uncustomed goods” in his yard.

Stabroek News further learnt from Baksh that the men then demanded that he get out of his car. However, he said that at that point he’d suspected that the men were bandits and he refused to disembark his vehicle.

“I told them that I had to go out and I drove away…as I was driving away I glanced in my rear view mirror and I saw the men get in a red four runner and drive off,” Baksh said.

Baksh stated that he is a licensed gold and diamond dealer and has no idea what sort of illegal “goods” the men might have been looking for if indeed they were from the GRA.

According to Baksh, his security guard was present at the time of the incident. Baksh said he learnt from his employee that five men dressed in civilian clothing demanded he open the gate and let them in or they would jump it. One of the men, Baksh recalled, had two tear drops tattooed under his left eye.

“I had four carpenters working on the ceiling of my home at the time so after the guard let them in he said that they made him walk in front of them and they proceeded to search the house and yard,” the man explained.

After the incident Baksh said that he reported the matter to the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost and later to the Kitty Police Station. The police, Baksh reported, have already launched an investigation in the matter.

There were reports that the men were armed with guns. When questioned about this Baksh’s guard said that he did not see any of the men with a gun.

Further, the businessman said that he visited Kurshid Sattaur, GRA’s Commissioner General, yesterday and informed him about the incident. Baksh said that Sattaur neither confirmed nor denied whether the men were indeed from his organisation. Baksh, visibly disturbed by the whole incident, refused to comment further on the matter and again informed Stabroek News that a quantity of raw gold and cash was missing from his home but he was not prepared to disclose the estimated value.

When this newspaper visited Baksh’s home hours after the incident his business associate, who did not state his name, pointed out the various dredging materials and machinery in the compound.

The man reiterated Baksh’s statement that they were licensed gold and diamond dealers. According to him, they had several dredges in various interior locations.