The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) today reported the disappearance of approximately six million dollars ($6M) worth of foreign liquor from its Eccles Warehouse Facility.
The liquor was discovered missing on May 13 but the GRA only disclosed this today, more than two weeks later.
In a statement, it said that “This discovery was made by officers of the Agency’s Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) during a routine inventory exercise, which led to the immediate launching of an investigation on May 13, 2015.
“As a result of the discovery, surveillance footage was reviewed and has revealed that officers of the security firm contracted to provide twenty four hours security to the said Warehouse were very much involved in the reprehensible act. In light of this the GRA has since provided copies of the recording to the management of the private security firm and has indicated to them that they are being held culpable.
“Additionally, the matter has been reported to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for further investigation and the subsequent institution of criminal charges.
“Meanwhile, Commissioner General of the GRA Mr. Khurshid Sattaur has assured that the Agency will spare no effort in having the perpetrators brought to justice. He noted that the Agency had previously installed a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) monitoring system to safeguard against such incidents and this had significantly aided the investigation.
“From all indications, this incident was orchestrated utilizing the cloak of darkness in an effort to avoid detection of the activity and the identification of the perpetrators. Preliminary investigations have revealed that no current employee of the GRA is involved in this incident. As a result, the Agency is urging members of the public, including members of the Press to avoid speculations at this point. As investigations continue, additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
