Five Sri Lankans were fined and ordered deported on Tuesday after the court heard that they entered the country thinking it was part of Suriname.
A group of four Sri Lankan men and a Sri Lankan woman faced an illegal entry charge on Tuesday, March 17th when they were brought before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
It is alleged that on Sunday, March 15, 2020, at 63 Beach, Corentyne, they entered Guyana by sea and ‘disembarked’ without the consent of an immigration officer.
The Police prosecutor informed the court that, on March 15, 2020, immigration ranks were acting on information when they went to a city hotel where the Sri Lankans were staying. The Sri Lankans’ passports were checked and it was discovered that entry stamps were not endorsed in any of their passports. They were then arrested and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters where an investigation was conducted.
During the investigation, the Sri Lankans told the police that they had entered Guyana from Suriname under the assumption that Guyana was part of Suriname. Thus, they did not present themselves to an immigration officer upon entering Guyana from Suriname.
The Magistrate after listening to the prosecutor’s statements, ordered the Sri Lankan nationals to each pay a fine of $30,000 and ordered them deported.
