In a developing political controversy rocking Guyana, the nation’s Director of Public Prosecutions has formally approved criminal charges against opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed and two members of his staff, linked to a late-night shooting incident outside the residence of a top police intelligence official who is a key witness in a U.S. extradition request targeting the opposition leader.
The three men face three total counts: unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and attempted perversion of the course of justice. None of the filed charges relate to the actual discharge of a weapon, despite the chaotic sequence of events that unfolded late Monday night.
According to official police accounts, the incident unfolded outside the Kitty neighborhood home of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch, the country’s primary intelligence unit. Narine alleges that the vehicle carrying Mohamed, his driver Eugene Thorne, and videographer Mario Mohamed passed his home twice on the night in question. On the second pass, Narine told police he heard what sounded like a gunshot, took immediate cover, and returned fire using his service-issued handgun.
Initial police reports noted that one spent .32 caliber shell was recovered across the street from Narine’s residence, and a subsequent update added that four spent 9mm casings were also collected from the scene. Law enforcement officials have stated that a handgun loaded with three live rounds was found in the car that the three men were traveling in when they were detained.
Internal sources close to the legal process confirm that the charges have already been formally read to the three defendants, who are scheduled to make their first court appearance this Friday. If convicted on the firearm possession charge, the men face a fine ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 Guyanese dollars and a prison sentence of one to three years, with identical penalties applied to the separate ammunition possession count. The charge of obstructing the course of justice carries an additional one-year prison term if the trio is found guilty.
Mohamed, who leads Guyana’s main opposition party We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), has forcefully denied all allegations and pushed back against the police narrative. Through his attorney Siand Dhurjon, Mohamed claims law enforcement officers planted the recovered firearm under the accelerator pedal of his vehicle to frame him. Going further, the opposition leader has accused police of orchestrating the entire incident in an attempt to kill him.
The shooting incident comes against a backdrop of ongoing legal proceedings tied to a U.S. extradition request, in which Narine is the lead witness. Mohamed and his father Nazar Mohamed are wanted by federal authorities in Florida, where they face trial on charges of money laundering and other financial crimes connected to their family-owned gold trading business.
In prior testimony before the magistrate court handling the extradition request, Narine claimed that Azruddin Mohamed poses a significant threat to Guyana’s national security and has been linked to multiple homicide cases despite never being formally charged in connection to those killings. The latest charges have amplified political tensions in the country, as the opposition decries the legal action as a politically motivated attack ahead of the scheduled court appearance.