Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton granted a police officer $75,000 bail when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court charged with stealing US$10,000 from a man while at the Passport Office.
The court heard that on July 31, at the Central Immigration and Passport Office, Georgetown, Avinash Rambarran, 21, stole US$10,000 valued $2M in local currency, property of Hosaé De Oliveria Castro. The three-year serving member of the Guyana Police Force who resides at 93 Enmore, East Coast Demerara, denied the charge of simple larceny when it was read to him in court.
His attorney Vic Puran told the court that the virtual complainant (VC) was a detained prohibited immigrant and as standard procedure was searched by his client and another police officer but that the VC never complained at that time of having lost any money. According to Puran, it wasn’t until some time after that the VC made the claim.
Puran further opined that the complaint by Castro is only an attempt to divert attention from investigations into him being a prohibited immigrant. He also questioned why the other policeman that conducted the search of the VC along with his client was not arrested as well.
Police Corporal Venetta Pindar told the court that her facts were different from that of the defence. She said the VC was able to report the matter only after the defendant’s shift had ended and was taken over by another rank to whom he made his complaint. Pindar also said that no other police officer was with Rambarran at the time of the alleged incident.
Rambarran was ordered to appear in Court One on September 20.
