Guyana murder suspect caught in NYC After 10 Years on the run

Law enforcement officials in Queens, New York, have arrested Kanand Ojha, a man wanted in Guyana for the 2015 murder of Noel ‘Nephi’ Luther. The arrest was carried out on Monday by the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, which comprises United States (US) Marshals, Homeland Security agents, and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

The arrest follows years of collaboration between the Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Attorney General’s (AG) Chambers and US authorities under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters framework. This partnership has strengthened over the years, enabling joint criminal investigations and facilitating the extradition of fugitives between the two countries.
Ojha had been wanted since July 2019 in connection with the killing of Luther, a sex worker, who was shot in the chest during a confrontation with Ojha and his associate Ron ‘Andel’ Forde at Carmichael and Quamina Streets, Georgetown. Forde was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2017 after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The State contended that around 01:30h on July 22, 2015, near Carmichael and Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Forde and Ojha confronted and shot Luther who plied his trade in the area. It followed an argument which Luther had with an unsatisfied client, who was a friend of Forde. Ojha had allegedly accused the sex worker of robbing him and had left only to return later accompanied by Forde, who then shot Luther who died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.