Audit into Police Force uncovers over 100 missing firearms

AN ongoing audit into the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has discovered that over 100 handguns are missing and over a $100M allegedly misappropriated.
The Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has since raided the offices of the Finance Department and seized files and hard-drives.
Several top ranks in the force are likely to be questioned in relation to their alleged involvement in the disappearance of the guns.

The missing weapons include those that were lodged with the force by members of the public for safe keeping, along with others which were seized from criminals and form part of exhibits in court matters.
The audit suggested that the weapons began to disappear in 2018.

Meanwhile, four senior officers from the GPF Finance Unit were sent on administrative leave recently as investigators probe the alleged misappropriation of $150M.
The Sunday Chronicle understands that the officers bullied and underpaid ranks their allowances which they were entitled to for additional duties they performed.
“When ranks signed for their allowances or claims, they would force them to collect less and many people never said anything because they were bullied,” one policeman, who experienced this, told this newspaper.

The policeman, who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said while documents were signed to say that the funds were released, they never reached into the hands of the ranks.
“This happened to a lot [of] ranks in the interior regions,” one source said.