Police body to probe detective’s damning allegations

The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) of the Guyana Police Force has been instructed to commence an investigation into the damning allegations made on social media by police detective Dion Bascom.

Bascom, a 33-year-old Police Sergeant, was among five persons arrested on Monday by ranks of the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) after three pounds of cocaine were found in a Norton street, Georgetown, residence.

In a Facebook video on Thursday, Bascom said that he was only visiting a friend at the Norton Street premises when the bust was made.

Though arrested, Bascom was not charged. He has since been released.

He, however, alleged that he was being targeted for highlighting concerning occurrences in the police force including a cover-up that may have impacted the investigation into the murder of popular gold dealer and biker Ricardo Fagundes.

Fagundes, also called Paper Shorts, was riddled with bullets on March 21, 2021, on Main Street, Georgetown, moments after he exited the Palm Court nightclub.

CCTV footage on the night of the incident showed Fagundes walking towards a black vehicle after exiting the nightclub when two gunmen jumped out of a parked white fielder across the road and opened fire on him. Fagundes was seen lying on the roadway as the two men stood over him and riddled his body with bullets before escaping in the waiting car.

Bascom subsequently removed the video with the damning allegations but made a Facebook post on Friday stating that he stands by what was said. He called for foreign diplomats in Guyana to intervene in the matter.

In response to the Sergeant’s claims, the Guyana Police Force issued a short release.

The entire police release read: “The Guyana Police Force has taken note of a video which was circulating on social media which has now been deleted, and a subsequent post on Facebook by Dion Bascom.

“The Office of Professional Responsibility has since been instructed to commence an investigation.”