Cables released by Wiki Leaks highlighting communication between the US Embassy in Georgetown and the US Government back in Washington in 2006, have revealed that the US Embassy was convinced that it was then Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon who had ordered the 2002 return of spy equipment to drug king pin Shaheed Roger Khan.
During the 2006 period, Roger Khan, who is currently serving a sentence in the US for drug trafficking, shared a good relationship with the PPP government, according to the documents.
In the newly released cables between former US Ambassador Roland Bullen and Washington, it was revealed that Khan also enjoyed the protection of the PPP government.
It said that in 2002, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) detained Khan and two others (including a Guyana Police Force (GPF) officer) after finding them in possession of an armored vehicle, military arms and cell-phone surveillance equipment.
“The latter was a Cellular Protocol Analyzer model CSM 7806 manufactured by Smith-Meyers. Khan and the others were hastily released, the charges dropped, and the equipment returned”, the US Cables reported.
According to the Cables, “Khan did enjoy political protection from GoG officials at the highest levels. At a minimum, former Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj and long-time Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon collaborated with Khan.”
It stated that “Luncheon (President Jagdeo’s deputy) is known to have intervened and ordered the authorities to release Khan and return his equipment as described…Also, eyewitnesses say they have seen Khan leaving the President’s office.”
In a previous cable from the US Embassy, the former Ambassador had stated that “A senior functionary in the Office of the President told us that the communications equipment and weapons were handed back over to Khan. Our interlocutor said the arrest had been “a mistake” because Khan was “working with the police” when the arrest was made”.
The PPP government had always denied its involvement in the return of the spy equipment to Roger Khan and had also dismissed Khan’s own admission of working along with the PPP administration during the crime fight.
According to the former Ambassador, “Ever since Khan’s May 2006 indictment in the U.S. on drug charges, the GoG has tried assiduously to distance itself from him.”
The former Ambassador also raised a meeting between himself and then Minister of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira following Khan’s arrest and transfer to the United States.
According to the cables, Teixiera was concerned about the impact of the arrest and persons who might want to fill Khan’s shoes as the leading drug king pin in the country.
Ambassador Bullen told Washington that the PPP government leaders “were comfortable with Khan because they thought he was on their side; the possibility of a new kingpin allied with the political opposition makes them very nervous indeed.”
The report described Roger Khan as a known drug trafficker who is believed to have had ties with Colombian, Brazilian, and Venezuelan drug trafficking groups.
The embassy was also of the view that Khan had ties to organized crime groups and access to large sums of money and could have purchased “whatever technical resources he needed”.