THE Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft, which was found by the security forces in the Rupununi last Sunday night, arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri on Thursday.

The aircraft, which bears registration PR-IMG, touched down around 13:00hrs Thursday afternoon at the CJIA. It was flown by Guyana Defence Force (GDF) pilots and is being secured by the army.

No one has come forward to claim ownership of the aircraft, and to date, the Brazilian companies with which its registration is affiliated, have not reported it as stolen.

The twin-engine aircraft is tied to an investment bank in neighbouring Brazil. The financial institution, Banco Bradesco, facilitated the sale of the aircraft between its owners, a Rio-based company and another private entity.

The bank is listed by the Brazilian authorities as the owner since the process of transfer of ownership is ongoing.

The aircraft was found near Santa Fe in the North Rupununi on a recently cleared illegal runway.

President David Granger had stated that the incident is being treated as a public security matter.

“We know that people were running away from the plane and if they were wounded or injured, they would not have been running, so we have to get to the facts first before we jump to [a] conclusion,” President Granger said on Wednesday.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is probing the authenticity of the Brazilian registration attached to the aircraft.

GCAA Director-General Egbert Fields, said checks will be made with the Brazilian aviation authorities to see if the plane is indeed registered in that country and to ascertain its ownership.

This discovery was made just a week after soldiers found another illegal airstrip, a chain saw, aviation fuel, 12 abandoned camps and several dug-out trenches in the same area.

Following Sunday night’s incident, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, noted that the government is working with local and international partners to build capacity and strengthen security.

He said the administration is taking this matter very seriously, and is making every effort to better equip the security forces and strengthen their capacity to secure Guyana’s territory.