– PM Hinds
PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds has warned smart fuel smugglers to desist from the practice because Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) will be focusing on steps to combat their various scams.

He issued the warning last Friday, at the start of the GEA campaign to promote energy saving and awareness, at its Quamina Street, Georgetown office.

Mr. Hinds said the illegitimate business is very much ongoing and, though it is being constrained, some amount of illegal fuel still manages to get through.

Consequently, officers are continuing to be very active in the operation, said the Prime Minister (PM), who added that they will continue to monitor, find and identify places and individuals who engage in the smuggling and seek to prosecute them whenever there is a sound enough case.

Mr. Hinds noted that one of the many tactics employed in the illicit trade is to place bee hives by their stash.

He said that causes trouble for the GEA officers and recalled one instance in which an officer was stung to the point of losing consciousness.

PM Hinds disclosed that the amount of purely smuggled fuel has reduced significantly but revealed that some involved in the contraband are now mixing it, posing a challenge to the marking system.

As such, he said the officers will be putting more focus on this issue and he encouraged purchasers to do the transactions with simple testers.

“We are going to start bringing in more samples into the laboratory here where we have a more accurate measure and a good chance of maintaining that there has been dilution,” Mr. Hinds said.

GEA Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mahender Sharma confirmed that, statistically, they have been finding fewer samples that have been adulterated.

“We became more effective at finding the hot spots so we are more effective in finding the illegal fuel,” he assured.

He explained that the challenging mixtures require GEA officers to be a little more focused and specific on how they go about their task of detecting illegal fuel.