“I committed no offence” – Brutus

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 October 2024, 18:53 by Writer

One hour after heavily armed detachments from the Guyana Police Force’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) departed outside the residence of Assistant Police Commissioner, Calvin Brutus, emerged from his residence and told the media that he and his wife committed no financial crime.

“I intend to vigorously defend these matters because there is clear evidence that what is happening is a matter of manipulation of evidence, fabrication of evidence just to make out a case against me and myself and team will defend all the allegations that are made and we are certain that we will be victorious,” he told reporters.

Sources said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Hack advised SOCU to proceed with charges for misconduct in public office and unspecified financial crimes. However, Mr Brutus said he was not officially informed about that.

The court last week heard that Mr Brutus has about 240 pending charges and that several bank accounts connected to him and his family have been frozen with more than GY$400 million.

He said police wanted to enter his residence to conduct a search but he refused them entry because only one police officer’s name was on the search warrant but no document was produced or read to him.

But Mr Brutus, who once acted as Deputy Police Commissioner, said his wife, Adonika Aulder, has two entities – one a sole trader and another incorporated – that had been doing business in keeping with the laws of Guyana including the submission of tax returns and other compliances. He said his assets were justifiable based on his businesses. “We follow all the procedures,” he said.

Asked to respond to a claim of inflated prices, Mr Brutus said they were comparable to all the other suppliers and there are others with much higher prices.

He did not specifically say why he was being targeted by investigators. “There is a background to it and it will come out in the constitutional case definitely. All those details will come out very soon,” he said.

Mr Brutus, who is also an Attorney-at-Law, recalled formally requesting permission from the Police Commissioner to establish his company in accordance with the Police Act and was granted approval to engage in trade or business. He said his company had “never done business directly with the Police Force” but two transactions had been approved by the Police Commissioner.

He expressed concern that SOCU and SWAT detachments were deployed to his residence which is located in the Police Officers Mess compound, saying he was not a flight risk despite the several routes other than the airport. Mr Brutus said the SWAT team is deployed for high profile cases where the suspect or person of interest is expected to use violence against law enforcement officials. “Disproportionate and uncalled for,” he said when pressed for his position on the involvement of the SWAT team. He added that “I’m not hiding anything there,” he said.

The police officer said “I’m concerned indeed for my safety and family”, having regard to what was being said on social media and at news conferences. He said he would continue to reside in the police quarters “as long as it is legally possible”.