Dr. Ramsammy purchased spy equipment
Enrico Woolford
in New York
The sophisticated spy computer being wheeled into the courtroom yesterday.
The Guyana Government says that the Guyanese police have the ‘intercept’ receiver and laptop that Roger Khan was using. Yesterday the US Government produced it in Court.
And that was not the end of the story. The US produced the Co-founder and director of the firm that manufactures the equipment. This man identified it as the one sold to the Guyana Government.
Yesterday afternoon, in the US Federal Court in Brooklyn, the prosecution called to the stand, Mr. Peter Myers who, 22 years ago, co-founded and has been with the UK company, Smith Myers ever since.
Myers, who flew in from the UK to testify, said under oath that the intercept equipment is only sold to Governments and one set of equipment was sold by the company’s Florida sales office through the Spy Shop in Florida to the Guyana Government.
Myers identified the equipment as an intercept receiver and two laptops that were sold to the Guyana Government.
The Intercept receiver was identified by Myers as a CSM 7806 and two “Toughbook” Laptops, a small one and a larger one.
Myers told the court, both in direct and cross examination, that the only things missing from the equipment that was sold to Guyana were a USB cable and a small rubber type antenna.
Both of the items were regular items that could be picked up at any electronic store. Myers in his testimony said that both laptops were working and the intercept receiver had a minor power supply problem.
The Witness added that over the years, his company has made these pieces of equipment to be sold to law enforcement bodies for about US$75,000. The equipment allows intelligence officers to intercept cell phone calls using the receiver, he added.
The data is then sent by USB cable to the laptops where the numbers and conversations/communication can be recorded onto the hard drive.
He said that while any laptop can be used running on Windows XP or other systems, the Intercept CSM 7800 series is necessary to passively intercept the radio frequencies on which all cell phones operate.
Myers was shown the operating software CD and he identified it as belonging to his company and stated that the software would have accompanied the equipment sale. Myers further identified printouts and photographs of the screen of the two “Toughbook” laptops.
The UK-based witness declared to the court that those are his company’s operating systems.
The jury and the court saw clearly, long lists of Guyana telephone numbers with target names like “Fineman” next to some of them.
Two numbers as seen from the public gallery appeared to have been 629-0112 and 624-7370 (the latter number being that of Opposition Leader Robert Corbin). The sheets of the list of numbers were entered into evidence and are available as part of the case docket.
Meanwhile, once again the defence has identified Dr. Leslie Ramsammy as the purchaser of the equipment.
Defence attorney Gerald Shargel stated that the evidence shows Dr. Leslie Ramsammy authorised the purchase on behalf of the Government of Guyana.
Smith Myers being a UK company can be asked by the Guyana Government or a court in Guyana to produce the now “contentious evidence” of the authorization documentation that the Florida Office received to allow it to be sold to Guyana.
The equipment later ended up in the hands of self-confessed drug trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan.
In court, Myers, the Co-Director of Smith Myers stated that an independent contractor, a named Carl Chapman, was dispatched to Guyana to train those who had to use the intercept receiver.
The Defence team maintains in e-mail and subpoenas that Shaheed Roger Khan was trained by Mr. Chapman to use the laptop.
Although the Chief of Police in Guyana controls the Immigration Department, no records have ever been produced that Mr. Chapman traveled to the country from the United Kingdom or elsewhere at the times listed by the defense.
The Commissioner of Police also claims he has the intercept equipment but has never ever produced it or asked Smith Myers to identify it as the one that was sold to the Guyana Government.
In addition, the import and export of radio communication equipment with transmit and receive capacities are governed under the Wireless and Telegraphy Act and Customs is required to be informed of permits to import before the equipment is released.
It is unclear what happened in this case.
The US Government intends to call the FEDEX individuals who were responsible for the movement of the equipment from the United States back to Guyana to the office of Robert Simels, the former attorney of Roger Khan.
Simels is on trial for obstruction of justice, witness tampering and possession of eavesdropping equipment.
