A Prashad Nagar miner has alleged that a substantial
quantity of cash and gold disappeared from his home yesterday
after a group of men claiming to be Customs officers searched
his premises.
Azeem Baksh, a licensed dealer in precious metals, said that
the men had claimed that they were searching for goods on
which he had failed to pay duties.
According to him, no one, except an elderly caretaker, was at
home when the search was conducted.
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The miner said that he contacted the police and also filed a
complaint with Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue
Authority (GRA), Khurshid Sattaur.
Contacted last night, Sattaur confirmed that Customs officers
had visited Baksh’s premises.
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He also said that Baksh’s allegation is being investigated.
Baksh told Kaieteur News that he was driving past his home on
the way to Ogle, East Coast Demerara at around 14:00 hrs
yesterday when he saw about “four or five men” in his
yard.
According to the miner, the men were all wearing civilian
clothes, and he observed that his caretaker was with them.
Baksh said that he attempted to contact the caretaker by cell
phone, but his employee’s phone was turned off.
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He said that eventually, one of the men came up to his
vehicle.
“I really thought that they were bandits because the one who
approached me had a tattoo over one of his eyes,” Baksh
said.
According to the miner, the man identified himself as a
Customs officer and said that they had received reports that
Baksh had uncustomed goods on his premises.
Baksh said that the ‘Customs officer’ informed him that
they had found nothing illegal on the premises during their
search.
At the time, Baksh said that he had assumed that the men had
only searched his yard.
However, the ‘Customs officer’ also asked the miner to
step out of his vehicle, but Baksh said he refused and
informed the man that he was heading to the Ogle Aerodrome.
At that point, the ‘Customs officers’ reportedly entered a
red pickup and drove off.
Baksh said that when he was heading to his destination he
succeeded in contacting his caretaker by phone. According to
the miner, the employee alleged that the ‘Customs
officers’ had ordered him to turn off the phone after the
caretaker had tried to contact Baksh.
He said that the caretaker also claimed that the men had
forced him to open his employer’s home.
The miner said that it was only then that he realized that the
men had entered his home.
Baksh said that when he eventually returned home, he
discovered that a substantial quantity of money and raw gold
had vanished from his house.
The miner told Kaieteur News that he filed a report about the
theft at the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost and then contacted
the GRA Commissioner General.
Friday,
November 7, 2008