–found abandoned on illegal Rupununi airstrip

MEMBERS of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were on Monday on their way to the North Rupununi following the discovery on Sunday of an aircraft left abandoned on the very illegal airstrip that was uncovered two weeks ago five miles west of Santa Fé.

According to a statement issued by the police on Monday morning, the discovery of the aircraft was as a result of “a due-vigilance exercise” over the last four weeks, following reports of the frequent sighting of a foreign aircraft over the Santa Fé Area.

The police say that based on a further tip-off, a party of policemen, under the command of a senior officer, on Sunday afternoon proceeded to Santa Fé where a thorough check uncovered over a dozen ten-gallon jars of fuel in the bushes, and that a swathe of land had been recently cleared.

Then, just as the party was about to take its leave of the area, they observed an aircraft circling overhead some distance away. On returning to the cleared area, the police saw three men running away from the aircraft, which had by then landed.

Reports are that a vehicle was also left behind by the scurrying men, but the police made no mention of it in their release, except to say that they had secured the abandoned aircraft.

The aircraft in question has been positively identified by local aviation sources as a high-performance Beechcraft King Air model, with a load capacity of more than 10,000lbs on take-off.

The police have confirmed in their statement that GDF ranks and another party of policemen, led this time by ‘F’ Division Commander, Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, departed Lethem around midnight on Sunday and arrived at Santa Fé around 02:00hrs Monday morning.

And on conducting a thourough check of the aircraft, they found a quantity of dry ration, medical supplies, gents clothing and footwear, two hand-held radios, flashlights, cellular phones and an identification card amongst other items.

They were also able to ascertain that the cleared area where the aircraft was landed is over a mile long and about fifty feet wide, and appears to have been recently graded.

According to the police, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has been duly notified about this latest find, whereupon arrangements were immediately put in place for a multi-agency team to be flown to the area to conduct a more detailed investigation.

At the time the airstrip was first discovered two weeks ago, the army had reported finding, among other things, 12 abandoned camps, several dug-out trenches, one chainsaw, and an undisclosed quantity of fuel.
Noting that the find was indicative of the many challenges the security forces have been faced with in the hinterland over the past few years, the army reportedly said back then that it was not the first time an illegal aircraft has been seized by the State, and that a thorough investigation was underway.

Back in September last year, a plane which originated in Columbia and was being used to transport drugs was discovered near the village of Yupukari in Region Nine (Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu).
Reports had also indicated that the area where the aircraft was found was on the radar in relation to the illegal drug-trafficking trade.
At the time, the army had also found a quarter-drum of aviation fuel, a chainsaw and an axe at the location.
There were also reports that the abandoned aircraft had previously been sighted circling the area on numerous occasions in the past. The plane, bearing registration number N767Z, was first brought to the attention of officials on September 13, 2016 by a resident of the area.

The following day, a joint army and police team, inclusive of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), was dispatched to the location to conduct a full investigation. It was later revealed by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, that the registration number, which purportedly originated in the United States, was bogus, since there was another active aircraft in the U.S. with the same registration number.