GEORGETOWN, Guyana – A 33-year-old taxi driver from Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara has been formally arraigned on charges of unlawful possession of 10 fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles, the Guyana Police Force confirmed in official statements released this week.
Stephen Rajah, a resident of Back Street in Goed Fortuin Village, was taken into custody on May 22 following a multi-phase law enforcement operation that led to the recovery of the cache of military-grade firearms in East Berbice. The case first moved through the court system on Thursday, when a New Amsterdam Magistrate officially presented the charge to the accused. Under Guyana’s judicial procedures, Rajah was not required to enter a plea at this early procedural hearing.
Following the reading of the charge, the court denied Rajah’s application for pre-trial bail and issued an order remanding him to state custody until the next scheduled court appearance. The proceedings have been adjourned to June 15 to allow for further investigative and procedural steps.
The seizure of the weapons dates back to an early-morning stop-and-search operation conducted by police along the access road leading to the Berbice River Bridge, conducted between 1:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. on May 22. During the operation, law enforcement officers attempted to stop a black Toyota Corolla Fielder bearing registration number HC 9018, a vehicle that was later linked to Rajah. Instead of complying with the order to stop, the driver fled the scene, accelerating eastward and successfully evading immediate arrest, police records show.
Acting on intelligence gathered after the escape, officers launched a targeted search along the No. 11 Village Public Road, where they located the 10 AK-47 rifles concealed inside wrapping made of plastic and cloth. The firearms are now held as evidence in the ongoing criminal case.
The recovery of a large cache of military-grade weapons has drawn attention to illegal arms movement in the region, with law enforcement continuing to investigate whether the weapons were intended for criminal activity such as organized crime, drug trafficking, or other illegal operations. As of Thursday’s court appearance, no additional suspects have been named in connection with the weapons cache.