Businessman Nazar Mohamed today again accused the Guyana Police Force of attempting to “frame” his son, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, in the investigation into the March 2021 murder of Ricardo Fagundes, called ‘Paper Shorts’ alleging that investigators have coerced witnesses and detained persons associated with the family’s businesses in an effort to build a case.
In a video posted on the Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, Nazar Mohamed denied that his son had any involvement in the killing and questioned why investigators were pursuing him more than five years after the murder.
“I want to make it clear that based on everything that I know, he has absolutely no involvement in the ‘Paper Shorts’ murder,” the senior Mohamed said.
He also questioned the portrayal of Fagundes, stating that the slain businessman had a criminal background and had been associated with convicted drug trafficker Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan.
“But who pulled the trigger? That’s the big question… Why is it that you’re trying after five and a half years to frame an innocent man?” he asked.
Mohamed then outlined what he said was a series of arrests and detentions of persons connected to his son’s political organisation and businesses.
According to him, investigators first detained four individuals whom he described as “hard-working people” associated with Azruddin Mohamed’s team.
He alleged that the four were placed in police lock-ups, held for up to 72 hours and offered inducements to implicate his son.
“They offered them deals. They tried to coerce them. They offered them money,” he charged, while stating that the individuals refused.
Mohamed further alleged that investigators had previously attempted to persuade the owner of a vehicle linked to the investigation to alter his statement, referring to allegations previously made by Azruddin Mohamed concerning the ownership of a car that featured in the police probe.
He also charged that investigators had approached prisoners, including convicted criminals and hijackers, seeking statements against his son, but alleged that those efforts were unsuccessful.
According to Mohamed, police later arrested another former employee, Travis Aden, whom he described as a deportee from the United States.
He alleged that investigators offered Aden money, protection and other benefits in exchange for implicating Azruddin Mohamed and others.
“They offered him deals… They offered him money. They offered him protection… and got him to lie on these innocent men,” Nazar Mohamed claimed.
He maintained that employment records showed Aden had worked for the family’s business in 2021 but was stationed at its City Mall operation in Georgetown rather than its Friendship location during the period relevant to the investigation.
“We have all our employment records… We have the roster. We have everything to show,” he said.
Nazar Mohamed also criticised the conditions in police lock-ups and questioned the professionalism of the Guyana Police Force, alleging political interference in the investigation.
“The other day they went and searched the place. What’s happening here really?… Is this the way we want to build a professional police force, where the executive can just instruct their police to lie on people?” he asked.
The latest comments come amid an intensification in the long-running investigation into the execution-style killing of Fagundes outside Palm Court on Main Street, Georgetown, in March 2021.
As previously reported by Kiskadee Watch, police earlier this month searched the home of Azruddin Mohamed as part of the investigation. During the search, Mohamed’s sister, Hana Mohamed, livestreamed the operation while family members questioned officers about the basis for the exercise. The Guyana Police Force did not identify Azruddin Mohamed by name in its statement on the operation.
The search followed a series of arrests of persons linked to Azruddin Mohamed’s businesses and political organisation. Among those detained were security officer Mark Richmond, who was arrested in connection with the Fagundes murder before later being released, and several other employees and associates who were questioned by investigators.
Azruddin Mohamed has repeatedly alleged that investigators have sought to pressure witnesses into implicating him, claims that police have not publicly addressed.
The developments have unfolded against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter political dispute between the Mohamed family and the government.
Shortly after Azruddin Mohamed publicly alleged corruption involving President Irfaan Ali’s farm along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, the President had accused Nazar Mohamed of attempting to blackmail him over issues involving the family. He later denied those allegations, while continuing to accuse the administration of using state agencies against his family.
Both Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed were sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2024 over allegations that they were involved in the evasion of taxes on gold exports and public corruption in Guyana. The father and son have denied the allegations.
The United States has also unsealed criminal indictments against the two men, who are currently contesting extradition proceedings in the courts after US authorities requested that they be surrendered to face the charges. The extradition case is expected to come up for decision at the Caribbean Court of Justice on July 29th following defeats for the duo in the local courts.
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