U.S.-sanctioned and indicted Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed was among eight people encountered by Joint Services ranks after a “go-fast” vessel allegedly ignored orders to stop on the Demerara River Tuesday night, triggering a pursuit that ended at a wharf at Friendship, East Bank Demerara.
According to the Police, Joint Services ranks were conducting a maritime patrol and acting on information received at approximately 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, when they observed the vessel proceeding along the Demerara River toward Friendship.
An earlier Joint Services statement said the vessel was initially observed entering the mouth of the Demerara River at a high rate of speed. Ranks signalled it by siren to stop, but it failed to comply, prompting a pursuit before it was intercepted at the Friendship wharf.
During the pursuit, ranks reported seeing a bag being thrown from the vessel into the Demerara River. Authorities have not determined who threw the bag or what it contained, and efforts are underway to locate and recover it.
Three people were found aboard the vessel when ranks arrived at the wharf, including Mohamed, while five others suspected of having travelled aboard the vessel were observed at the facility.
The incident comes as Mohamed faces separate legal proceedings stemming from actions taken by United States authorities.
Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in June 2024 over allegations involving gold smuggling, tax evasion and corruption.
The two were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida in 2025 in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar gold export and tax-evasion scheme. U.S. prosecutors have alleged that the scheme involved more than 10,000 kilograms of gold and approximately US$50 million in taxes and royalties owed to Guyana.
The United States is seeking their extradition to face the charges.
The Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard are jointly investigating the circumstances surrounding Tuesday night’s incident.
Further information is expected as the investigation continues.