Police reviewing CCTV footage in execution-style killing of gold dealer

…suspected getaway car found on fire

As detectives intensify their investigation into the execution of gold dealer Ricardo Fagundes, they are yet to make an arrest.
Sources close to investigations revealed that CCTV footage is being reviewed to establish what really transpired on Sunday evening outside a nightspot on Main Street, Georgetown.

While relatives of the dead man remain tightlipped on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the Police are working with every possible lead to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum when contacted told Guyana Times that the investigation is in its preliminary stage and that several persons were questioned in relation to the execution-style killing on Sunday evening.
However, that is all the information he could have provided with respect to the ongoing investigations.
The 42-year-old gold dealer also called “Paper Shorts” of Lot 25 Sandy Babb Street, Georgetown, was shot several times about his body at about 22:00h on the night in question.
While information remains sketchy about what transpired, the Police stated that the now dead man was in the company of a close friend partying at Palm Court when his mobile phone rang.
As such, he reportedly exited the club to take the call but soon after, several gunshots were heard. Patrons of the club including the now dead man’s friend rushed out to enquire but they saw Fagundes lying motionlessly in a pool of blood close to his motor car.
From all indications, his body was riddled with bullets. In fact, the Police would have recovered at least 15 spent shells from a high-powered rifle at the scene.
Nevertheless, as the man lay on the roadway, the EMT Ambulance Service at the Stabroek Fire Station was contacted and upon arriving at the scene, they pronounced him dead.
Initially, reports stated that after Fagundes left the club, he reportedly walked towards his motor car and it was then, he was confronted by a lone gunman who opened fire. After the shooting, the perpetrator reportedly boarded a motor car and left the scene.
Meanwhile, several of the now dead man’s friends took to social media, expressing their condolences to the family. Many of them recalled Fagundes as a quiet person who was in the past wrongfully implicated in underhand business.
Fagundes was no stranger to the law. In 2017, Fagundes, a former employee of embattled gold dealer Saddiqi “Bobby” Rasul, was arrested several times by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for questioning into a massive money-laundering scheme.
It was reported that during raids by SOCU, a number of vehicles, boats and several high-profile weapons and ammunition were seized.
The raids were conducted in light of the money-laundering investigation that was launched against Rasul and alleged corruption with the Guyana Gold Board and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI).
Meanwhile, on Monday, Police found a white wagon, which is suspected to have been used by the killer, on fire at Swan, Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Police have not confirmed if it is the same car but based on CCTV footage, the car is of the same model as the one seen outside the nightspot, in which the killer escaped following the shooting.