More than a decade after police named him as a wanted man in connection with the 2015 murder of sex worker Noel “Nephi” Luther, Kanand Ojha is back in Guyana and is expected to face the courts.
Ojha was arrested in Queens, New York, last September and deported to Guyana yesterday.
Ojha remained outside the reach of local authorities for more than 10 years before his arrest in the United States.
His arrest followed ongoing cooperation between Guyanese and US law enforcement authorities.
In September 2025, the Government of Guyana said the arrest resulted from collaboration involving the Guyana Police Force, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Attorney General’s Chambers, together with US authorities under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters framework.
The government said the cooperation between the two countries had strengthened over the years and had resulted in fugitives being arrested and returned to the jurisdictions where they are wanted to face legal proceedings.
Ojha’s return comes years after another man admitted to shooting Luther and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ojha is now expected to be brought before the Guyanese courts in relation to the longstanding case.
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