Chicken smuggler ordered to pay $4.9M fine to GRA or serve 1 year in jail

…over $20M in smuggled liquor & cigarettes seized

A chicken smuggler has been ordered to pay to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) the sum of $4.9M in fines, or alternatively serve one year’s jail time. This ruling was handed down by a Georgetown magistrate, according to a brief statement issued by the GRA.
This defendant, Richie Shaw of McDoom, East Bank Demerara (EBD), has been ordered to pay a fine that is three times the value of the goods which he had attempted to smuggle. He was accused of knowingly concealing uncustomed chicken, contrary to Section 218 (c) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.
According to the GRA, on the day in question, the defendant reportedly removed the quantities of smuggled chicken from their original ‘Rockingham’ packages and concealed them in black bags in order to deceive law enforcement officers by passing the commodity off as local chicken. The GRA, however, with the assistance of experts from the Veterinary Public Health Unit of the Ministry of Health, managed to prove the contrary to the court, which led to Shaw’s conviction.
In December 2019, more than 830lbs of chicken were seized by the Police and handed over to the GRA, following a shootout between the law enforcement officers and the smugglers at Belfield, East Coast Demerara. Reports had indicated that the chicken was likely smuggled from Suriname. Then in February 2020, the GRA discovered a large quantity of smuggled chicken and alcohol in a truck at Dazzle Housing Scheme, ECD.
GRA Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia is on record as saying that smuggling is costing the economy millions of dollars through revenue losses.

Liquor and cigarettes
In a separate matter that is still being investigated, officers attached to the GRA’s Law Enforcement & Investigations Division (LEID) on Thursday seized more than 82 cases of smuggled liquor and over 62 bales of cigarettes from a property at Atlantic Gardens, ECD. The GRA has said these items are valued in excess of $20M.
In its brief statement, the tax body has emphasised that it would continue to maintain a “zero tolerance” approach against smuggling and other illegal activities, thereby allowing for a “level playing field for legitimate businesses and the collection of revenue”. As such, it is encouraging persons involved in such activities to cease therefrom, and bring themselves into compliance with the nation’s tax, trade, and border laws.