A Brazilian gold miner, who claimed he was misguided, was fined and ordered deported yesterday after admitting that he forged a passport to hide the fact that he entered the country illegally.
Gilmar Santos Da Silva, 31, was ordered to pay a total of $150,000 with an alternative of 18 months in jail as a result of his guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a forged document,
Police say Da Silva entered Guyana illegally through the Takutu River sometime between June 1, 2012 and August 24, 2013 and conspired with a person or persons unknown to insert a false entry stamp into his Brazilian passport.
Police also say that on August 24, 2013, at the Ogle International Airport, with the intent to defraud, Da Silva uttered his Brazilian passport with two false Guyana entry stamps to an immigration officer, knowing same to be false.
When he was arraigned before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty, through an interpreter, to both charges.
When Magistrate McGusty asked Da Silva if he had anything to say, he said he was sorry for what he did and explained that he was misguided because he did not speak English.
She fined him $75,000 for each offence with an alternative of nine months’ imprisonment. Da Silva was also ordered to be deported after paying his fine or serving his jail sentence.
