HGP Nightly News – Police and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition have provided separate accounts of a late-night operation at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, involving a high-speed vessel carrying Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and the subsequent arrest of MP Natasha Singh over a firearm reportedly licensed to MP Dawn Hastings.
According to the Guyana Police Force, a joint maritime patrol involving police ranks and the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard observed a “go-fast” vessel entering the mouth of the Demerara River at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday.
The authorities said the vessel was travelling at high speed and failed to stop after being signalled by siren.
A pursuit followed, and the vessel was eventually intercepted at a wharf at Friendship.
Police said three people, including Mohamed, were found aboard. Five other people suspected of having travelled on the vessel were reportedly observed at the wharf.
The GPF and Coast Guard said they were jointly investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and would release additional information when appropriate.
Their initial statement did not identify the vessel’s operator, explain why it allegedly failed to stop or state whether anyone connected to the maritime incident had been arrested.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition subsequently issued a statement focusing on events it said unfolded at the Friendship property after the vessel arrived.
According to the opposition’s account, MP Natasha Singh was arrested at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday for alleged unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The opposition said the firearm is licensed to fellow MP Dawn Hastings, who had been preparing to travel with Singh.
Hastings had reportedly placed her personal belongings inside Singh’s vehicle before boarding the docked vessel to determine why police and Coast Guard personnel wanted to conduct a search.
The opposition alleged that Coast Guard ranks then cut the rope securing the vessel to the wharf and moved it away.
According to the statement, that action prevented Hastings from returning to Singh’s vehicle, where her belongings, including the firearm, had allegedly been left.
Singh was reportedly unable to reboard the vessel and subsequently drove away, intending to meet her colleagues wherever the Coast Guard was taking them.
The opposition claimed police blocked Singh near the gate of the Opposition Leader’s compound and searched her vehicle.
During that search, ranks allegedly discovered the firearm licensed to Hastings.
Singh was then arrested and taken to the Farm Police Station, where the opposition said she remained in custody.
The police’s initial release did not mention Singh, Hastings or the discovery of a firearm.
It also did not respond to the opposition’s claim that Coast Guard personnel cut the vessel’s mooring rope or that Hastings was separated from the vehicle containing her belongings.
Conversely, the opposition’s statement did not directly address the police allegation that the vessel had entered the Demerara River at high speed and failed to obey instructions to stop.
Neither account explained who was operating the vessel or why the patrol’s signal was allegedly ignored.
Several other matters also remain unclear, including where inside Singh’s vehicle the firearm was found, whether she knew it was there and whether Hastings had informed her that the weapon was among the belongings left behind.
Although the opposition said the gun was legally licensed to Hastings, a licence issued to one person does not automatically authorise another individual to possess or transport the weapon.
At the same time, establishing whether Singh knowingly possessed it would be relevant to determining criminal responsibility.
No formal charge against Singh was announced in the statements provided. She remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty before a court.
The joint investigation is expected to examine both the vessel’s alleged failure to stop and the circumstances surrounding the firearm’s discovery.
A fuller account will require the authorities to release the search records, detention status of those involved and evidence surrounding the maritime pursuit, while the opposition would need to substantiate its claims about ownership of the firearm and the sequence of events at the wharf.
