A week after a suspected smuggler was shot and killed, allegedly by a member of the Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad (BASS), the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday announced that the controversial unit would be disbanded.
According to a GRA press release, the unit will now be merged with the regional operations of its Law Enforcement and Investigations Division (LEID).
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with GRA head Khurshid Sattaur to ascertain whether the recent manslaughter charge instituted against a BASS member had any bearing on the decision.
Over the years, the unit has been accused of unprofessional activities and of doing more harm than good. Shafraz Khan, 40, a customs monitoring officer with the unit, was was charged on Tuesday with killing a detainee, Charles Caesar, during a raid. Khan was arraigned on a charge of manslaughter before presiding Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, where he was released on $250,000 bail.
The GRA release said it was after consideration that a decision was taken to disband the unit, which had been established with the objective of curbing smuggling activities in the Corentyne, Berbice area.
“An examination of the effectiveness of BASS revealed that the unit was performing below expectation, with a rapid decrease in revenue collection over the period 2012-2015, and as such, it was deemed not feasible to continue operations,” it said.
Further, it was stated that based on the foregoing, and the closeness in nature of BASS’s operations to the GRA’s LEID, “a decision was made to fully integrate BASS’s operations into the regional operations of LEID.”
According to the release, it should be noted that prior to the implementation of BASS in 2000, LEID was responsible for the functions performed by BASS. These functions included the patrolling of waterways and roadways to suppress smuggling activities.
Persons currently employed in the BASS Unit will be paid their full benefits owed to them once the unit is disbanded, the release added.
