Two foreign pilots, who claimed they were lost and in search of gold when they illegally landed at the Mahdia airstrip on Diwali evening, were on Friday sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay over $11 million in fines after they admitted to four charges.
Juan David Caicedo Villa, a 32-year-old pilot of Villavicencio, Colombia and Gustavo Adolfo Riascos Gomez, a 48-year-old pilot/businessman of Tachira San Cristobal, Venezuela, were yesterday arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in a city court.
The men, who had been previously charged with illegal entry into the country and possession of two grammes of marijuana, were faced with four more charges. The two men admitted to the charges which alleged that on November 4, 2021 at Mahdia Airstrip, they interfered with an aircraft, operated a civilian aircraft without a certificate and insurance, and also operated the said aircraft in a reckless manner.
Each of the men was sentenced to two years imprisonment for operating the aircraft without a certificate. They were also fined a total of $11 million for the remaining charges, or in default three years’ imprisonment.
On November 4, the two men entered Guyana via an unregistered aircraft that landed at the Mahdia airstrip in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) at 18:00hrs. The two men were taken into police custody. The Guyana Police Force reported that the ranks of Mahdia Police Station observed the aircraft circling the airstrip in an attempt to land.
As a result, the police said ranks immediately went to the airstrip and on arrival around 18:05 hrs, a six- seater Piper aircraft was seen on the ground in front of Trans Guyana’s hangar. The two foreigners were standing in front of the aircraft talking to the security guard and ramp attendant. The men allegedly told the police that they were lost and were going to look for gold.
The men were later identified. The police also conducted a search on the aircraft and found that it contained three 15-gallon drums – two of which contained fuel – personal effects and two grammes of suspected cannabis with wrapping paper. The items were lodged.
