(Kaieteur News) Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed has been released on $100,000 bail following a six-hour maritime standoff on the Demerara River that saw Joint Services ranks intercept a vessel carrying opposition figures at Friendship, East Bank Demerara. Kaieteur News understands that MP Natasha Singh-Lewis is also being released on $200,000 bail after being taken into custody at the Farm Police Station during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

According to official releases from the Guyana Police Force and GDF Coast Guard, ranks on maritime patrol around 21:45 hrs on Tuesday spotted a ‘go-fast’ vessel entering the Demerara River at high speed. Authorities claim the vessel ignored sirens, prompting a pursuit to a Friendship wharf, during which ranks reported observing “a bag being thrown from the vessel into the Demerara River.” Joint Services confirmed Mohamed and several colleagues were aboard or at the scene, and search efforts for the missing bag remain ongoing.

However, Opposition MPs have rejected the security forces’ account of the incident. MP Odessa Primus, MP Natasha Singh-Lewis, and MP Tabitha Sarabo-Halley stated during live video coverage, which drew over 6,000 viewers, that the boat was already docked when police arrived and no high-speed chase occurred.