DPP discontinues charge against Crime Chief Blanhum

The private criminal charge which was filed against Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum by attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes under the Cybercrime Act was on Thursday discontinued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack.

“In accordance with the powers conferred on the DPP under Article 187 (1) (C) of the Constitution of Guyana, the DPP has discontinued the charge filed by Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes against Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum,” Police Headquarters said in a statement.

The police further stated: “A missive was today dispatched to the Chief Magistrate by the DPP in relation to the aforementioned.”

According to the police statement, Blanhum’s lawyers contended that the charge is an abuse of the court’s process and is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate the Crime Chief as well as senior police officers who are expected to testify in the matter against his client.

Hughes is representing Police Detective Dion Bascom who was on Wednesday released on $300,000 bail on three cybercrime-related charges for allegedly harassing two of his senior colleagues online by accusing them of ‘covering up’ the murder of Ricardo ‘Paper Shorts’ Fagundes.

On August 8, Bascom was among five persons arrested by the Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) after three pounds of cocaine were found in a Norton Street, Georgetown, residence.

Though arrested, Bascom was not charged and was released by CANU but he went live on his Facebook page and made several damning allegations of corruption against city businessman Azruddin Mohamed and senior officers of the Police Force as it relates to the murder of Fagundes.

Fagundes was riddled with bullets on March 21, 2021, on Main Street, Georgetown, moments after he exited a nightclub.

Bascom has since deleted the live video over fears about his family’s life.

An investigation carried out by the Regional Security System (RSS) did not find any evidence of corrupt practices or an attempt to cover up the probe into Fagundes’s murder.

Mohamed recently moved to the High Court to file a $200 million lawsuit against Bascom for defamation.

Caesar is currently in a defamation lawsuit against Bascom for alleged false statements made during the live video.

The senior officer demanded that Bascom retract allegations levelled against him, issue an apology and pay compensation for defamation in the sum of $50 million.