CANU denies involvement in GRA operation to seize vehicles for unpaid duties

The Customs Anti Narcotic Unit (CANU) has flatly denied any involvement in the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) luxury vehicle seizure operation at the residence of high-profile businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, on Saturday.

Saturday morning, officials from GRA and ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were blocked from entering into the Mohamed’s home by an angry mob, who were at the time protesting the authorities move to gain access to several luxury vehicles owned and or imported by the family.
In a live Facebook broadcast, persons can be heard insinuating that the operation was being executed in collaboration with CANU. However, CANU has vehemently rejected claims that it played any role in the high-stakes operation.
In fact, the agency slammed the reports as “misleading and irresponsible,” urging the public to check their facts before spreading unverified information. CANU’s swift and firm response is aimed at quashing any rumours of wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, GRA agents have confirmed their action at the Mohamed family estate, noting that the exercise is linked to a massive $900 million customs duties bill.
A few weeks ago, the GRA issued a press release explaining its authority to re-evaluate and recover unpaid taxes from the Mohameds, who allegedly brought the vehicles into Guyana under the re-migrant scheme.
According to the agency, re-migrants are required to maintain legal residence in Guyana for five years, spend at least 183 days per year in the country, and personally use the vehicle as their primary mode of transportation under the GRA’s standard conditions for duty-free concessions.
Additionally, vehicles under this scheme cannot be leased, sold or transferred within the five-year period, and owners must report to the GRA every six months for inspection. Non-compliance with these conditions is an offence under Section 36 of the Customs Act, which may result in penalties, including fines and forfeiture.
On this point, it was revealed that the remigrants who brought in the vehicles under question for the Mohamed family did not fulfil these conditions, particularly the residency requirement. This has led to the GRA’s move to recover the waived taxes.
By Saturday afternoon, however, the GRA’s enforcement efforts were placed on hold by a temporary restraining order issued by Justice Gino Persaud at 13:39h. The court barred the GRA from seizing or detaining four vehicles—two Land Cruisers, a Lamborghini, and a Ferrari—until a further hearing.
At 15:30h, the court extended the order until Thursday, April 10, 2025, giving the GRA until then to respond to Azruddin Mohamed’s application for judicial review and a full injunction.
Among the amounts cited are $479.7 million for a 2020 Ferrari registered to Hana Mohamed, $371.7 million for a 2020 Lamborghini Roadster titled to Azruddin Mohamed, and $320 million for a 2023 Rolls Royce registered to Bibi Mohamed.
Additional taxes include $61.4 million for a 2023 Range Rover under Leslie Khan’s name, and $24.6 million each for two Toyota Land Cruisers also registered to Azruddin Mohamed.
It was just days after the Mohameds had posted the vehicles on social media, that GRA began their investigations of the luxury vehicles.
In 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced that it sanctioned against Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, several of their companies, and a Guyanese Government official, Mae Thomas, for their roles in alleged public corruption in Guyana.
According to a statement from OFAC, this is related to the evasion of taxes on gold exports noting that between 2019 and 2023, Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10 thousand kilograms (kg) of gold from import and export declarations, and avoided paying more than US$50 million (over $10 billion Guyana Dollars) in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
Since being sanctioned, the Mohamed’s have never directly addressed the sanctions imposed by the US Government.