HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – Who was monitoring access to sensitive surveillance footage at the Guyana Police Force Command Centre? That question is now taking centre stage as another police constable is remanded to prison over the alleged extraction and disclosure of recordings linked to Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed.
The latest development has placed the security arrangements at the Liliendaal facility under increased scrutiny, with the Ministry of Home Affairs now calling for a comprehensive review of personnel, access controls and supervision.
Police Constable Ashton Chappelle, 24, also known as “Chappy”, became the second police rank charged in connection with the alleged CCTV leak when he appeared before Magistrate Abigail Gibbs on Monday.
Chappelle was charged under the Cybercrime Act with obtaining and giving electronic data relating to national security.
He was refused bail and remanded to prison until November 24.
But his appearance before the court has also raised questions about how sensitive recordings were allegedly accessed, copied and removed from a facility responsible for handling police surveillance information.
According to allegations disclosed during earlier High Court proceedings, investigators claim Chappelle downloaded the recordings, transferred them to a flash drive and handed the device to fellow Constable Ryan Greene.
Greene is separately accused of providing the recordings to Mohamed in exchange for $800,000.
Both Greene and Mohamed have also been charged and remanded to prison.
The footage reportedly relates to the October 12 shooting outside the Kitty residence of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, Head of the Police Special Branch.
Against this background, the Home Affairs Ministry has acknowledged concerns surrounding the adequacy of safeguards at the Command Centre.
In a statement Monday, the Ministry called for a review of personnel, supervisory arrangements, operational procedures and access controls.
The review is expected to determine the extent of any breach and identify possible failures in conduct or oversight.
The Ministry warned that unauthorised handling of sensitive surveillance information, if established, could compromise criminal investigations and threaten national security.
It also indicated that the findings could influence legislative reform and stronger security procedures.
However, questions remain about the systems used to monitor access to surveillance recordings, who was authorised to retrieve the footage and what safeguards were in place to prevent unauthorised disclosure.
The allegations against the accused remain unproven, and the outcome of the proposed security review is yet to be determined.
