CLAIRMONT Reid of 197 South Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a charge which detailed that on June 6, at the CJIA at Timehri, he made an untrue declaration on an immigration form, stating that he was not carrying more than US$10,000, when in fact he had in his possession the sum of TT$139,135, the equivalent of US$21,045.98.Attorney-at-law Dexter Todd, representing the 37-year-old defendant, said his client had returned to his homeland with his family of four, after living in Trinidad and Tobago for the past 15 years. The lawyer said Reid, whom he deemed a remigrant, came to Guyana after the 2015 General Election, being encouraged by numerous persons to contribute to the development of his homeland.

Todd said that Reid owned a business and a taxi service in Trinidad, which used to provide for his family, but he closed those down to return to Guyana. “Reid was cleared by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) in relation to the money being used for money laundering or any criminal act,” Todd pointed out.

Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that on June 6, at about 22:15hrs, Reid arrived in Guyana on Caribbean Airlines’ flight BW 483 from Trinidad and Tobago. He presented himself and his baggage to a customs officer, to whom he handed over the declaration form; and that officer, upon checking Reid’s bag, found the money, which was above the permitted US$10,000.

Questioned, Reid told the customs officer: “I brought the money for various persons, and I didn’t see the need to declare it,” the prosecution told the court. The money was seized by the customs officer and taken to the Bank of Guyana, where it was tallied at US$21,045.98. Jeffers strongly urged the magistrate to base her ruling upon the justice of the case.

The chief magistrate fined Reid $250,000., default in payment of which would incur six months’ imprisonment. Additionally, the sum of US$11,045.98 of the money was forfeited, but US$10,000 will be returned to him.