Special Branch head Senior Superintendent Prem Narine yesterday denied that Azruddin Mohamed was under surveillance before his October 31, 2025 arrest, despite acknowledging that he had deployed police ranks to locate the Opposition Leader shortly before the detention.

Narine was under cross-examination before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman in the extradition proceedings involving Azruddin Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed, when defence attorney Siand Dhurjon questioned him about how police located Azruddin Mohamed on the day he was arrested.

Narine said that after obtaining the arrest warrants, he checked several locations where the Mohameds were normally expected to be but did not find Azruddin Mohamed there.

He subsequently said he caused his ranks to search for Azruddin Mohamed.

According to Narine, one of the ranks later telephoned him and reported that Azruddin Mohamed was on Smyth Street.

Narine testified that he then left the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court and travelled to the location to execute the arrest.

Asked whether the rank’s call was what caused him to leave court and arrest Azruddin Mohamed, Narine responded, “Yes.”

He said he reached Azruddin Mohamed in less than a minute after receiving the information, explaining that traffic was backed up in both directions and that he used the siren of a police patrol vehicle to get through.

But the defence questioned how Narine could have reached Azruddin Mohamed so quickly if the police had only learned his location after he was already at Smyth Street.

Dhurjon suggested that a Special Branch rank had been stationed outside Azruddin’s Houston residence and followed him when he left for court.

Narine said he could not recall having anyone stationed outside Azruddin Mohamed’s home. He also denied that the vehicle allegedly stationed there had followed Azruddin Mohamed  to Smyth Street.

The defence has been seeking to establish that Azruddin Mohamed was being monitored by Special Branch before the United States’ extradition request was received.

Narine denied that he had caused surveillance of Azruddin Mohamed and his family and associates before the arrest.

He also denied a suggestion that surveillance of the Mohameds had been intensified from the night before October 31.

During Monday’s cross-examination, Narine was asked about several alleged surveillance operations involving Azruddin Mohamed during political outreach activities in 2025.

He repeatedly said he could not recall those operations.

The defence also suggested that Special Branch had used several vehicles to monitor Azruddin and his family, including vehicles allegedly registered to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Narine rejected those suggestions, saying he was not aware of the vehicles and did not cause them to be used to monitor Azruddin Mohamed.

The defence further suggested that Narine had been acting as part of a wider government effort against the Mohameds and that state agencies had been involved in the extradition process before October 31.

Those suggestions were denied or, in several instances, disallowed by the court.

The defence also attempted to question Narine about the manner in which Azruddin Mohamed was arrested, including the use of multiple firearms, more than 15 masked police officers, rifles being chambered in the direction of those arrested, tight handcuffs and Azruddin Mohamed being placed in the tray of a pickup and driven through Georgetown.

The Magistrate ruled that those questions were irrelevant to the extradition proceedings and did not allow them.

Narine was also asked whether Azruddin Mohamed had told him, when contacted, that he was on his way to court.

He said he could not recall.

His cross-examination was deferred and will resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.