Instead, the FBI has asked the Guyana government to provide the original tape. Guyanese authorities had sent a copy of the tape on March 20 to the FBI after expressing concern about the content of the tape, which it felt had serious implications for national security.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Secretary to Cabinet, Dr Roger Luncheon, told the media Wednesday that the FBI has written the Guyana government indicating that it was unable to pronounce on the authenticity of the controversial recording.

"In the last week of May, the American authorities had indeed transmitted to Minister Teixeira - unfortunately she was out of the country - communication from the FBI indicating their inability to pronounce on the authenticity of the tape, providing the reason or the explanation that it was not an original tape and that prevented that study or those studies from being concluded," Luncheon stated.

Speaking to the challenges of obtaining the original tape, Luncheon said, "I think we might as well hang that up (since) I don't know where you are going to get an original or authentic copy and I don't know who will buy this authentic or original copy."

Luncheon further noted that the Americans have been able to use television reports of Bin Laden's voice to identify him. Since the first controversial telephone recording was released, another surfaced earlier this month and observers say the content of the latter recording is much more serious.

They point to a voice of the tape suspected to be that of the Commissioner of Police and another member of the PNCR discussing plans to plant drugs on a Guyanese woman at the Cheddie Jagan International Airport in an attempt to cause a search for foreign currency stolen from the office of the party leader.

The seriousness of the tape's content prompted Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds to request a response from the Commissioner of Police to the allegations.