I have taken note of a letter in the Stabroek News edition of June 21, 2024, authored by Mr. Mike Persaud, with the caption…”Bhagwandin should tell readers what happens with the gold at the factory floor in the interior”.
It is unclear what was the motive and equally the substance of Mr. Mike Persaud’s letter—because I have never disputed the prevalence of gold smuggling; likewise the authorities have also not disputed same.
As a matter of fact, the President, the Vice President, and the Attorney General have outlined a series of measures—including legislative amendments, that will be undertaken to combat gold smuggling.
Again, I reiterate that I am perplexed as to what might be Mr. Persaud’s agenda, since he contributed nothing new to the discussion in terms of solution (s), save and except for a certain disclosure which he made, that in my view, gravely implicated himself. In this regard, he disclosed that in 1993/94, he ran into a pilot in New York who told him that he (the pilot) had been hired to smuggle gold out of Guyana. He said he believe the pilot is credible and his story is very believable, that he “stand ready to be debriefed by the Guyana CID—so that the authorities can investigate the allegations of gold smuggling”.
The question is, why it took him (Mr. Persaud i.e.) three decades to make this revelation? Why did he not to act on this information 30 years ago and only now putting this in the public domain? This suggests to me that Mr. Persaud and the like are part of the problem and not the solution.