FORTY-four-year-old Tabatinga, Lethem businessman Hutashan Ramsingh was on Tuesday granted $1M in the High Court for the offence of conspiracy in relation to the abandonment of a Beach King Air aircraft near Santa Fe, Rupununi last August.

Ramsingh called Seon Singh, was charged and appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on December 18,2017 with conspiring with persons known and unknown to facilitate the illegal landing of an aircraft on an unauthorised port of entry between August 10,2017 and August 13, 2017at Mandacoro Island, Savannah (Santa Fe), Lethem.

Ramsingh was denied bail and was remanded to prison. Nevertheless, his attorney Jerome Khan made an application for bail before Justice Brassington Reynolds in the High Court on Tuesday and it was granted with the condition that Ramsingh reports once weekly at the Lethem Police Station. The matter has been adjourned until March 5, 2018.

Two other men are currently before the courts for the same matter. On September 15, 2017, Wazim King, 37, and Nathan Hamilton, 21, appeared before City Magistrate Judy Latchman charged with aiding and facilitating the illegal landing of an aircraft suspected to be involved in the trafficking of narcotics and firearms at an illegal port of entry. The matter was also transferred to the Lethem Magistrates’ Court.

The men’s attorney had contended that their clients had no knowledge that the airstrip or airplane was illegal, since the men were hired by Ramsingh to construct a road. Acting Police Commissioner, David Ramnarine, had disclosed that five males and one female were arrested initially in connection with the case and legal advice was given to charge two of them. The others were released on bail.

The twin-engine aircraft bearing registration PR-IMG was discovered by the security forces in mid-August. 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.
On August 13, 2017, police ranks were in 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 rations, 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 chainsaw, aviation fuel, 12 abandoned camps and several dug-out trenches in the same area.