Special Branch Chief Testifies in Extradition Hearing Over Surveillance of Azruddin Mohamed

Police arrested Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and two other men after a shooting incident outside Special Branch head Prem Narine’s home in Kitty, where officers say they found an unlicensed .32 pistol, ammunition and spent shells in their car. The case is significant because Narine is a key witness in the US extradition proceedings against Mohamed and his father, Nazar, over alleged fraud and money-laundering offences.

The Court of Appeal is weighing whether Guyana’s extradition safeguards are strong enough to protect Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and his father, businessman Nazar Mohamed, from being sent to a third country without Guyana’s consent. Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde says U.S. diplomatic assurances cannot cure gaps in the treaty, while Attorney General Anil Nandlall says they are sufficient. The ruling will affect whether extradition proceedings to the United States can move forward.

Guyana’s Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the Mohameds’ constitutional challenge to parts of the Fugitive Offenders Act, after Attorney General Anil Nandlall defended US assurances against re-extradition and said they fit the existing treaty framework. The ruling will affect whether the US extradition case against Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed can proceed.

Guyana’s government says it will use the full force of the law after a gunfire incident outside Senior Superintendent Prem Narine’s Kitty home, where he is a key witness in the extradition case against sanctioned Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed. Azruddin Mohamed and two others were arrested after police found an unlicensed firearm in their car; investigations are continuing and the U.S. Justice Department has been informed.

This opinion column argues that the disclosure of alleged evidence linking a man to six execution-style murders in Guyana is not about justice, but about a political fight inside the ruling PPP and state cover-ups. The writer says the case only surfaced because allies fell out, and warns that more crimes may have been hidden if not for the dispute.

Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman warned against involving children and spouses in social media posts linked to the extradition case against Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed, after police witness Prem Narine said a post featuring his 11-year-old son felt intimidating. The case stems from a U.S. extradition request over allegations of fraud, money laundering and customs offences tied to a gold export scheme.

Guyana Special Branch head Prem Narine told court he personally ordered surveillance on Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, saying no political superior instructed him and that he never filed reports on the monitoring. The admission came during extradition proceedings in Georgetown, where defence lawyers allege state resources were used to track Mohamed and his family before the U.S. request.

Senior Superintendent Prem Narine denied in court that President Irfaan Ali or anyone acting for him instructed him to monitor US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, as defence lawyers pressed allegations of political surveillance in the extradition case against Mohamed and his father, Nazar. The hearing matters because it could affect claims about how police handled the men before their arrest and the US request for extradition on fraud and money-laundering charges.

Special Branch head Senior Superintendent Prem Narine was closely questioned in court over how police located Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed before his October 31 arrest and why surveillance began in early 2024, before the U.S. extradition request. Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman said the hearing would not be rushed, as the defence probes whether the operation was independent of political influence.

Senior Superintendent Prem Narine told Guyana’s extradition court he had intelligence linking Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed to six alleged execution-style killings, but Mohamed was never arrested or charged in those cases. The testimony, and Narine’s admission that he destroyed three police note books, has raised questions about how Special Branch handled the intelligence and preserved evidence.