Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has been arrested, according to a Facebook post by Hana Mohamed, amid reports that the detention concerns allegations that he paid a police constable $800,000 for surveillance footage.
Hana Mohamed announced the arrest and alleged that police had used round-the-clock surveillance and tracked his phone’s location to find him.
The reported reason for the arrest had not been confirmed in the information available.
The development follows a police visit to Mohamed’s residence on October 27, when Superintendent Rodwell Sarabo told an employee that investigators wanted the Opposition Leader to attend Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters for questioning over an alleged corrupt transaction.
The employee said Mohamed had asked that his attorneys be contacted.
Police had issued two statements within minutes of each other on October 26 concerning a 20-year-old constable stationed at the Force’s Command Centre.
The first said investigators were examining allegations that the rank downloaded surveillance footage without authorisation on October 23 and provided it to Mohamed the following day for $800,000.
The second asserted that the constable admitted obtaining the recording on Mohamed’s instructions and accepting payment at his Houston, East Bank Demerara residence. Police also alleged that he spent part of the money and handed the remainder to his mother.
The alleged admissions were recounted by police, who said the constable remained under arrest while detectives sought to recover the money.
Mohamed gave a different account at his October 26 press conference, saying members of the Special Branch supplied the footage because they disagreed with the October 12 shooting involving him and Special Branch Head, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine.
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