…remanded to prison for conspiracy

TWO residents of Lethem were on Friday charged in connection with the recent discovery of an abandoned aircraft on an illegal airstrip in the vicinity of Santa Fe, Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
Wazim King, 37, and Nathan Hamilton, 21, appeared before City Magistrate, Judy Latchman, jointly charged with conspiracy to commit a felony. The charge read that the two men, between August 10 and August 13 at Santa Fe, Rupununi, conspired with, Hutshan Ramsingh called Ceon Singh, to facilitate the illegal landing of an aircraft suspected to be involved in the trafficking of narcotics and firearm at an illegal port of entry.

The men were not required to plead to the charge since the matter remains indictable.
King, was represented by Attorney-at-law Michael Somersaul while Attorney, Jerome Khan appeared for Hamilton. The attorneys contended that their clients have no knowledge that the airstrip or airplane was illegal, since the men were only hired by Ramsingh for the building of a road.

According to the lawyers, King is a driver and was hired to take a Bobcat into the Santa Fe, Rupununi, while Hamilton is Bobcat operator and was employed to help build a road.
Police Prosecutor, Vishnu Hunt opposed the duo being released on bail based on the seriousness and nature of the charge. He disclosed that both accused had given a statement to the police implicating their involvement in the illegal airstrip. The men had prior knowledge that the construction of the airstrip was illegal and both played their part in the building for the said landing area, the prosecutor argued.
According to Hunt, an investigation into the matter is still ongoing and more persons are expected to be arrested and charged. Additionally, Lethem businessman Ramsingh is yet to be arrested by the police.
Magistrate Latchman ruled in the prosecution’s favour and remanded the two men to prison until September 18, next, where the matter will be heard before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

Acting Commissioner, David Ramnarine, had disclosed that five males and one female were arrested initially and legal advice was given to charge two of them. The others were released on bail. He said the investigation has not been completed and further action will be taken.
On August 13, Police ranks were in the Santa Fe, Rupununi conducting a search when they stumbled upon over a dozen 10-gallon jars hidden in the bushes. The party of policeman observed that a long strip of land had been cleared to make what looked like an airstrip. As the ranks were leaving, they saw an aircraft circling the cleared area. When they returned, they observed three men running from the plane after it had landed. The men managed to escape but the aircraft was secured.

The lawmen upon searching the aircraft 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. The discovery was made a mere week after soldiers had found another illegal airstrip, a chain saw, aviation fuel, 12 abandoned camps and several dug out trenches in the same area.
Shortly after the incident, President David Granger travelled to the Rupununi, during which he underscored the importance of strong security presence along Guyana’s borders as well as the various ports of entry. He made the comments when he addressed stakeholders and security personnel and stressed that porous borders create avenues for pirates, people traffickers and smugglers to perpetrate crimes that thwart efforts at public safety and societal stability. “Drug gangs will come into our country; illegal migrants will come into our country. These elements are not friendly to us. They will jeopardise the safety of your own women and children and of your own communities. They will bring guns, violence and drugs into our society, they will change our way of life and that is why border security is so important to protect our way of life,” the Head-of-State said in his remarks to the security forces and other stakeholders of the Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region (Region Nine).
“I take security very seriously because without security, this country cannot develop. There are few individuals who are holding this country back. The bulk of the people want this country to move forward. We are not a criminal nation but there are a few criminal people who are holding us back and I am going to find them and put them away because they are holding back the development of a great people, a great region and a great nation,” he asserted.

Outlining his policy for Total National Defence (TND), the President implored of ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at Base Camp Kanuku, in Lethem, to remain vigilant at all times so that they can prevent intrusion into the country’s air and land space by foreign elements. He also made it clear that every section of society has a role to play in matters of safety and security, adding that the re-establishment of the Guyana People’s Militia (GPM) is in keeping with that vision. Moreover, he informed that every region will have a component of the GPM, which will be capable of rendering both military and civil services. Additionally, each region will have its own police division, which will be better able to secure the capital towns that have been created.
“There must be some means of collecting and passing information from the district, to the municipality, to the region and from the region, to the Central Government level…So when we speak of Total National Defence (TND), we don’t only speak of a horizontal distribution between the Defence Force, the Militia and the police, we also speak about vertical integration between the central, regional, municipal and the local levels. Every citizen has to play a part in this architecture of national defense. I am calling on all of these organs, the private sector, the non-governmental organisations, the ministries, the security forces, the Government departments, the municipality and the region, to look at the security of this region as one of its top priorities,” he said.