Two weeks after he went public with damning allegations, including that of a cover-up in the murder investigation of gold dealer Ricardo Fagundes, the police have been advised to institute several criminal charges against Detective Sergeant Dion Bascom.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that the police yesterday received legal advice from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Bascom, who had made a request to President Irfaan Ali for witness protection, has since returned to duty.
His return to duty was confirmed by his attorney, Nigel Hughes, who told Stabroek News in an invited comment yesterday that Bascom reported for duty sometime on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
He has returned to his posting in Essequibo after a previous request to be reassigned went unaddressed.
Hughes also confirmed that Bascom submitted a statement to the force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). The statement was prepared since February when Bascom first went public with the allegations. “He made a statement in February… he made it in case anything happen to him. It wasn’t submitted. So we submitted it,” Hughes told Stabroek News.
Bascom’s return to duty was shocking as just a few days prior both he and Hughes had raised concerns about his safety and protection.
The attorney had written President Ali requesting protection under the Protected Disclosures Act, stating that Bascom is prepared to testify under oath and he feared that his life is in grave danger.
Bascom has publicly claimed a senior policeman was paid $30 million to bury the Fagundes case and implicated others as being linked to the crime, prompting the threat of lawsuits. Hughes had said Bascom has also received threats to his life.
Not ruling out special protection for Bascom, President Ali had said that he had to first assess the case, but that the allocating of resources to ensure effective whistleblower’s legislation was a key matter for his administration.
Sources recently told Stabroek News that Ali is awaiting advice from his advisors on a protection request made by Bascom through Hughes. “We have not received a response from the president,” Hughes said yesterday.
Allegations
Two weeks ago, Bascom went public following his arrest in connection with a drug bust to air his frustrations over what he described as mistreatment that he and other ranks have faced while serving the GPF.
During a live Facebook video, which has since been removed, Bascom made allegations regarding the stalled Fagundes murder probe, saying he believed his life was under threat and that his arrest was part of the conspiracy to initiate his killing and that there was a cover-up by police of the slaying.
He had also claimed that he was one of the officers who arrived at the scene following the shooting of Fagundes. According to Bascom, he and other officers were able to track the phone used by the prime suspect and the calls he made before and after the shooting.
Bascom has further alleged that he played a key role in pursuing one of the suspects in the muder of Fagundes.
However, the GPF has since dismissed Bascom’s claims, by describing them as as “malicious and untrue”.
During a press conference last week, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said that it was convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan, who provided the names of two suspects who allegedly committed the crime.
Blanhum had also said that the force does not have any equipment that was being described by Bascom and maintained that at no point was Bascom ever present at the crime scene on official duty.
Fagundes, who was a close friend of Khan, was riddled with bullets by two men outside Palm Court on the evening of Sunday, March 21, last year.
At the time of the attack, he was approaching a parked vehicle owned by Khan. An autopsy later confirmed that Fagundes was shot about 20 times about his body. Khan would later say he was the intended target of the attack. The police recovered 30 spent shells at the scene. Sixteen were from an AK-47 rifle, while the other fourteen were from a 9mm weapon.
To date, the murder remains unsolved.
Just recently, Ali dislcosed that the CARICOM Regional Security System (RSS) has been asked to review the investigation into the murder of Fagundes. The lead investigator of the team is currently in Guyana.
The government’s decision to ask the RSS for assistance in the Fagundes murder probe comes in wake of mounting pressure for an international probe into the allegations made by Bascom.
Sources said “all aspects of the investigation,” including allegations made by Bascom that there was a deliberate attempt by the GPF to cover up the crime, are being looked at.
After he made the allegations, Bascom proceeded on sick leave.
Days after, the GPF broke its silence on the allegations when acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken issued a statement to deride the Bascom claims and to paint him as compromised.
Hicken had told a press conference that Bascom’s status as a member of the force will be determined based on legal advice.
