An ex-police officer was yesterday placed on $400,000 bail when he appeared at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court charged with falsely obtaining $6.4M for gun licences, before Magistrate Rushell Liverpool.
The court heard that between June 1 and June 30 at Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara, the defendant, Paul Watson obtained $500,000 from Shavita Singh by falsely pretending that he was in a position to obtain a firearm licence for her father Seeram Singh, knowing same to be false.
Also between June 1 and September 30, he obtained $700,000 from Singh, $1.5M from Jason Stewart and $2.7M and six ounces of raw gold, valued $1.5M from Desmond Mattes, a gold miner.
Watson took the money under the pretence that he was in a position to obtain a firearm licence from Mattes.
Reports are that Watson, said to be around 34-year-old of 317 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, was initially charged with the offence of obtaining by false pretence and had already been placed on $400,000 bail.
At that time too, he was ordered to lodge his passport and report weekly to the Leonora Police Station.
However, based on further legal advice from police, the charge was withdrawn and two additional ones were filed.
When the charges were read yesterday, the money for which the bail was previously posted, along with the other two conditions, rolled over to the current charges.
