FIVE Venezuelans were each sentenced to three years imprisonment yesterday, for armed robbery. Josua Medina, Jhosmel Enrealuces, John Marcano, Ramon Bermudez and Jonathan Benitez all appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson and pleaded guilty also to having, on April 4, at Wenamu River, being armed with guns, robbed Raquel Lopez of items valued $61,600; Frank Lopez of four and a half ounces of raw gold and valuables worth a total of $1.7M.
They admitted, as well, that they had robbed Jena Hernandez of a quantity of artificial jewellery priced at $150,000; Hector Martin of 10 pennyweights of raw gold with a value of $160,000 and Mohan Lall of six ounces of raw gold, amongst booty worth $2.3M.
Medina pleaded guilty to a separate charge of being in possession of a firearm and ammunition without licences on April 4, at Wenamu, admitting that he had a 12-gauge Winchester shotgun and three matching cartridges without licences. He was given an 18-month prison term for that and fined $10,000.
Through an interpreter, he told the Court he was licensed by Venezuelan authorities to carry the weapon as it was unsafe to be without one near the border and he had it for protection.
The magistrate informed him that he needs a Guyana licence for the weapon.
Police Sergeant Gordon Mansfield, prosecuting, said, on the day of the robbery, around 06:00 hrs, the men, carrying a gun, knives and cutlasses, robbed the victims who were in a speedboat  driven by Lall.
The prosecutor said the victims were travelling on the Wenamu River, from Arau in Guyana to Eldorado in Venezuela, when the vessel ran aground and stuck on some rocks next to Tamborine Island.
He said the five Venezuelans- three of whom were dressed in Venezuelan National Guard uniforms- attacked, robbed and tied up the victims and escaped into some bushes, but one of the victims untied himself and notified the police, who, along with soldiers, responded and arrested the three uniformed men with some of the stolen things.
According to the prosecutor, police and soldiers returned to the scene the following day and the Venezuelan National Guards handed over the other two defendants to the Guyanese authorities.
The robbers enquired if they will be sent home to serve the imprisonment but the magistrate explained that they first have to spend their time in the Guyana’s prison before being deported.