Shawn Hinds fingered in intended ‘hit’ against PM Nagamootoo
LESS than one week after making startling revelations against the criminal enterprise in Guyana – which he admitted to being a part of – self-professed former ‘Death Squad’ member, Shawn Hinds, has now found himself in hot water after being fingered in an intended hit on Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
These latest developments were brought to light by Nagamootoo yesterday during a meeting with reporters.
The Prime Minister related that information which surfaced just a few days ago, suggested that Hinds had been identified in a parked car in the vicinity of his residence and was gaging his activities just about two weeks ago. The event which reportedly unfolded just after 20:00hrs forced Nagamootoo to take a photograph of the vehicle which was parked just beyond his bridge outside of his Liliendaal, North Sophia home.
After residents had been alerted about Hinds’ presence in the neighbourhood and the Police were summoned, he reportedly drove away immediately.
But according to the Prime Minister, Hinds was not alone. In fact, a black car, which had been identified as one belonging to former Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, was seen in the opposite direction. “Someone informed us that it was identified as one of Nandlall’s vehicle, possibly driven by a former driver identified with Nandlall,” Nagamootoo disclosed.
Drawing an obvious conclusion that he might have been a possible target of Shawn Hinds, the PM suggested that the former death squad member needs to explain why he was present in the vicinity of his home, since it is not the first time Hinds has been featured in issues related to Nagamootoo’s security.
“We have alerted the police and they have been trying to contact Shawn Hinds and so I think it was out of that event – a heighten police interest in Shawn Hinds – that he might have decided to seek refuge at Freedom House or (from) whatever other things he did,” the PM reasoned.
Self-professed former Death Squad member Shawn Hinds
Prior to this however, after Mr Nagamootoo had realised that Hinds had some form of connection to his security, he approached the ‘notorious character’ who was at the time working at City Hall and enquired whether he (Hinds) had an interest in him, to which Hinds responded with a laugh.
Reiterating that the information received had indicated that Shawn Hinds had been the figure behind the wheels of the car spotted in his neighbourhood, the Prime Minister told the press that when the vehicle’s number was traced, it did not match the initial colour the car was registered with.
Against this backdrop, he offered that one could make a meaningful speculation whether it was a false number that appeared on the car’s number plate. The information which was received in this regard was then relayed to the Commissioner of Police and other Security agencies by Nagamootoo.
But in the interest of his safety, given these revelations supported by evidence, the Prime Minister submitted that Shawn Hinds be arrested.
Fingered in allegations related to Nagamootoo’s security also, is Rajput Narine, the second suspect currently held by the Police in relation to the murder of political activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing, earlier this year.
Narine, who had been identified as a former bodyguard of Nandlall, had reportedly showed an interest in serving as one of the PM’s personal security, during the intense political campaign. “He is the same person that had showed an interest in me and came to my office during the campaign and offered his services as one of my backup security; he said he would ‘watch my back’,” PM Nagamootoo disclosed to reporters yesterday.
But he was taken aback by the seeming “nervousness” which manifested when Narine approached him to propose his services. Reflecting on the series of activities leading up to this point, Nagamootoo then questioned whether the nervousness of the man at that time had been an indication that he (Nagamootoo) was a target of some kind.
“Did he know something? Did he hear something? Was his nervousness anything to do with me being a target of some sort?” the PM questioned, adding that his memory fails him in remembering whether Narine had been employed by Customs and Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) or the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Following this, the PM said that the man then pursued membership with the Alliance For Change (AFC), which he is unsure whether he was able to secure.
“All of this now are things that are unravelling and it is strange that you can situate someone in a situation where he was working for the former AG, was already working for the State, his name is being called in relationship with criminal elements and he had found a person like me leading up to the elections; a person of interest whom he wanted to protect” Nagamootoo stated.
Lamenting that these events might have been part of a wider conspiracy which is beyond the view of the average man, the PM suggested that the police should now follow all leads to see where there was a criminal syndicate attached to the PPP.
To this end, he declared: “I have a suspicion that there might have been [a conspiracy] because why would the former Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, go public during the campaign to say that ‘those who ain’t dead would be badly wounded?’ Why? It is a matter for him to explain.”
