Camilo Garcia, 31, was placed before Magistrate Sunil Scarce on Friday shortly after Police nabbed him on the Lethem-Georgetown trail at Kurupukari Crossing, Essequibo River.
The charge – interpreted to the Spanish-speaking Cuban – stated that between March 29, 2017, and June 22, 2017 at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions subject to which a permit was granted, that is to say having been permitted to stay in Guyana from December 28, 2016 to March 28, 2017, he overstayed.
According to the prosecution’s case, the accused arrived in the country using his Republic of Cuba passport via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and was granted a three-month stay. On June 22, he was intercepted by Police officials at the Kurupukari Crossing on his way to Georgetown (from Lethem) and subsequent checks revealed that Garcia had overstayed his time in the country.
In court on Friday, Garcia readily admitted to the offence and stated that he was travelling to Georgetown to purchase a ticket to return home. He further related that during his stay in Guyana he did construction work and masonry, or whatever was required of him to secure income to remit to his family in Cuba to pay his ailing son’s medical bills.
Garcia relayed that he only desires to return home to his son’s side to which Magistrate Scarce responded “your wish will be granted.”
However, the Cuban disclosed that he did not have sufficient funds to purchase an airplane ticket. He was nonetheless ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 and immediately escorted to the nearest port of exit thereafter.
Meanwhile, Barbara De Vierra was released on $200,000 bail after denying a charge of conspiring to commit a felony and uttering a forged document.
Magistrate Scarce read the first charge, which stated that between February 6 and June 21, 2017, she conspired to commit a felony; that is to say she conspired with person/s to forge a Guyana Immigration Service extension of stay stamp purporting to show that it was issued by the Central Immigration and Passport Office.
In addition, De Vierra on June 21, 2017 at the Central Immigration and Passport Office in Georgetown with intent to defraud, uttered to an immigration officer one Republic of Cuba Passport with a forged Guyana Immigration Service extension of stay stamp knowing it to be forged.
The woman’s Attorney, Paul Fung-A-Fat, told the court that his client was in Guyana visiting a friend named only as Debbie-Anna who had accompanied her to the Passport Office recently, where upon uttering the document to an Immigration officer, she discovered that the extension stamp was forged. De Vierra had allegedly paid an acquaintance some US$300 to visit the Immigration Office to secure an extension of stay and had no knowledge of the forgery, as she had all this time believed the extension stamp to be genuine.
Moreover, the woman is reportedly expecting to be married to a Guyanese in due time. Defence Counsel further stated that the woman came as a genuine tourist while assuring the court that she is no “night butterfly”.
Bail was granted to the sum of $100,000 for each charge. The matter continues on July 7.
