As it still grapples to come to terms with the two recent slaughters at Lusignan and Bartica, this country must now brace itself for more killings as it would appear that the phantom squad is back; two death-squad-type murders in the city in recent weeks have pointed to this.
Several persons had predicted that the Lusignan and Bartica killings would have provoked a response from the phantom squad, which appeared to have gone into retirement ever since drug-accused businessman, Roger Khan, who had admitted employing a network of ex-convicts and former policemen to fight crime, was charged in the US with narcotics trafficking.
The execution-style slaying of Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins’ sister, Marcyn King, and last Thursday night’s murder of Charlestown resident, George Barton bore all the features of the death-squad, which was responsible for the deaths and disappearances of several young men — some with criminal records.
Police had warned following the murder of King that it would not tolerate the killing of innocent persons and that all efforts would be made to arrest and prosecute the perpetrator of the act.
That was on March 10. Two weeks later, the lawmen have not arrested anyone and there has been no statement on whether ballistics tests conducted on two warheads that were retrieved from the woman’s body matched any in the police’s collection.
The now dead George Bacchus, who had shone light on the death or phantom squad, had accused former home minister, Ronald Gajraj, of being the architect of the killing group, which comprised a number of former policemen. Gajraj had vigorously denied the allegation and a Presidential Commission of Inquiry later exonerated him. Bacchus was killed in his home prior to the inquiry.
In addition to Bacchus, drug-indicted businessman, Roger Khan had admitted in several statements he issued while on the run here that he had used his resources and employed ex-convicts and some former policemen to fight crime during the escapee-led crime wave in 2002-04.
Khan never claimed responsibility for the deaths of wanted men. However, a source close to him had told this newspaper that the drug-accused businessman’s group had killed a number of wanted men whom the police had struggled to arrest.
The main opposition, PNCR had said at the time of King’s death that the murder was a dangerous development and it called on the government to take urgent action to protect the lives of relatives of persons on the police’s wanted list. Rawlins is wanted for the two recent mass killings as well the murders of countless other persons including former agriculture minister, Satyadeow Sawh. Police have offered $50 million reward for information, which could lead to his arrest.
King was shot dead on the night of March 10. She was on her way home from work when, on D’Andrade Street, a car drove up alongside her, a man exited and shot her several times before jumping back into the vehicle and escaping.
In a strongly worded statement, the PNCR had said that the circumstances in which King was killed bore all the hallmarks of “a hired gun for a reprisal killing. For some time now it had been the party’s contention that contract killers, pointing to the existence of phantom organisations, are abroad in this society with scant regard for human life.” The party said the contract killing phenomenon must cause Guyanese to reflect on the nature of the socialisation process and the causal factors including the role of the family and the education system.
Gunmen next executed Barton at Laing Avenue last Thursday in what appeared to be a well-planned drive-by attack. Barton called “Burlin”, 48, lived at 34 Howes Street, Charlestown. His teenage daughter Anika Barton, who was with him at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds to her right leg. The teenager had told the media that while she and her father were walking, four men pulled up in a white car and called to him by name.
Bacchus, in his several disclosures to the media, had spoken about this mode of operation by the phantom squad, which he had confessed to being an informant for. According to him, whenever they were hunting someone the killers would pull up alongside that person and call out the person’s name.
Anika Barton said once the men called her father, one of them shouted, “shoot him.” The motive for the man’s slaying could not be ascertained. Relatives had speculated that the killers might have trailed Barton from his home. Barton entered Laing Avenue from the western end with his daughter and was only a short distance in when a white car, as described by eyewitnesses, drove up approaching from the eastern end and opened fire. This was around 8.10 pm last Thursday. Barton was shot around three to four times. The car then sped off in a westerly direction.
Back in 2004, Bacchus had disclosed that the execution squad was formed because of the wave of crime, which swept the country in 2002, following the February 23 jailbreak, when five dangerous criminals escaped. A series of robberies and murders, including the targeting of policemen, soon followed. Later in 2002, several wanted men, including three of the prison escapees, were killed under mysterious but very similar circumstances. Other killings soon followed as suspected criminals and others believed to have criminal links were sometimes abducted and later found dead.
Despite this, some law enforcement and government officials continued to deny the existence of a death squad. Later on, having eliminated the persons who were believed to have led the criminal activities around that time, the group began to carry out executions for people who were willing to pay for its services, Bacchus had told Stabroek News. He said he had left the group after the death of escapee Shawn Brown, but continued to monitor its activities.
He had said he was concerned about the contract killings and had complained. This apparently did not go down well and his brother Shafeek Bacchus was killed in a drive-by shooting on January 5, 2004. George Bacchus was later found dead in his bed on June 24, 2004.
