Surveillance footage appears to exonerate former Detective Con-stable Richard Persaud, who was accused of planting suspected ganja on the premises of a Superbet branch at Reliance Village, at East Canje Berbice, last month.
The footage, viewed yesterday by Sunday Stabroek after repeated requests to do so, shows another rank, in uniform, with the suspected item in hand.
Persaud and the uniformed rank are seen arriving together in his car, after which they stopped in front of the premises for a few minutes and then ventured in.
Persaud yesterday said the rain was falling and so they waited for it to subside before walking in.
The footage shows Persaud and the rank walking in and Persaud looking at the side of a hut, located in the front of the yard, then walking to a stairway, from where he said they called for the owners.
The footage then shows Persaud, the uniformed rank and the owners, Maria Pardesi, 62, and Hemraj Pardesi, also known as ‘Prem,’ 65, of Lot 9 Reliance Settlement, East Canje Berbice, heading to the front of the hut.
It clearly shows Persaud remaining with the couple in front of the hut while the uniformed rank walked to the back of the hut and returned with an item in his hand. The footage then shows the uniformed rank talking to the couple, after which he shows the item to Persaud.
The footage from another camera located behind the hut is missing. One of the owners, when questioned, said they were unaware how the footage went missing. It would have established whether the uniformed rank actually found the item or placed it on the premises himself.
Persaud, who last week publicly announced that he quit the Guyana Police Force as he felt no effort was being made to hear his side, had explained that he was not present at the Superbet to conduct a search. Persaud explained that he went to the premises to collect a document in relation to an ongoing investigation. “We had to do a report and send the file for advice, so you had to get registration and everything for the business and that was what I went and collect<’ he said.
He noted that the uniformed rank, who did not have a nametag, asked him for a drop in Canje as he was heading in too. “I go the morning to collect some documents from the man (owner) and another police accompany me there,” he said.
After viewing the footage yesterday, Sunday Stabroek questioned Mr. Pardesi about whether it was indeed the uniformed rank who picked up the ganja. “Yeah he pick it up and give the Persaud,” Pardesi said, before adding that he did not know the other rank and since he was not wearing a nametag he was unable to identify him.
Persaud had also strongly denied that he requested any amount of money from the owners to have the alleged discovery disappear, “The other police who found the items supposed to lodge it and let the analyst say is what,” he had said. “I swear on my daughter life I didn’t put anything,” he added.
Persaud said after the matter was reported to the division’s crime officer, he was subsequently placed under close arrest. He was then put me on open arrest and then was allowed to resume duty, before being transferred to the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), under close arrest once again for the same matter, I spend four days at TSU. However, when they put me on open arrest, I ask them if I can come home because one clothes I had on all this time and they said no and I just left the compound and resigned,” he added.
The uniformed rank, identified only as “Johnson” and who is stationed at the New Amsterdam Police Station, was never placed under close arrest, transferred or investigated. The reason for this remains unknown, since efforts to contact the Commander of B Division, Paul Langevine, proved futile.
The Guyana Police Force has also not commented on Persaud’s case.
Persaud previously insisted that the CCTV footage would clear his name. He had also stated that he believed he was deliberately frustrated in order to force his resignation.
Persaud had said he believes that a senior police officer, who is presently under investigation himself, was behind of it. He noted that while at TSU he saw the senior officer arriving in his private vehicle.
Before being placed on leave, the senior officer had summoned Persaud and another rank to his office after which he transferred them since he believed that they were the sources behind this publication’s stories about corrupt police practices in Berbice. However, Persaud was not one of the ranks who had spoken out.
