A 22-year-old Colombian national who at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri was discovered to have entered Guyana illegally was yesterday fined $50,000 and ordered to be immediately deported when she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
A tearful Vaughn Katina Velincia Cortez through an interpreter pleaded guilty to the February 10 charge which stated that at Lethem, she entered Guyana without presenting herself to an immigration officer.
Presenting the facts of the case, Police Prosecutor Simone Payne said that the Colombian who is the holder of passport numbered AK 659053 on the day in question entered Guyana through Lethem from Brazil and did not present herself to an immigration officer at the Lethem border.
The young woman eventually made her way to Georgetown and was attempting to leave the country via the CJIA on Tuesday when the immigration officer there observed that there was no entry stamp in the woman’s passport to show a legal entry.
The defendant was then escorted to CID Headquarters where she was placed in custody and charged.
Attorney Oneka Archer who represented the defendant requested the non-custodial penalty.
She indicated to the court that her client had no intention of wasting the court’s time and accepted that she was at fault and desired to return to her country.
