Guyana-Brazil border: Police on high alert over illegal entry – Region 9 Commander

Police are said to be on high alert for persons entering and leaving Guyana illegally by way of the Guyana-Brazil border in Region Nine (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo). This was disclosed by the region’s newly appointed Commander, Superintendent Raphael Rose, during a weekly radio programme “The Police and You” on Tuesday evening.
Even with the boarders being closed by the National COVID-19 Task Force, the Commander revealed that a 24-hour joint security with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on the Takutu Bridge has been put in place to combat the illegal entry and departure of persons. “…we would turn persons back who would try to enter into Guyana based on the lockdown rules,” he stated. Apart from one specified day that is facilitated for trading, the borders are kept closed.
He noted that there are other areas that are prone to illegal entry and exit between Guyana and Brazil, naming the most popular to be the village Saint Ignatius, which is located in the Rupununi Savannahs of Guyana. Persons are known to be smuggled across the river to enter or leave Guyana. “We would do routine patrols and we would ask the public to share any information of persons coming over… the Police cannot be all the way along those areas, so we would have shared our numbers with the community, because the river runs straight along the Saint Ignatius area.”
The Commander stated that where persons [Brazilians] are seen in Lethem and are known to have crossed over illegally, they are usually arrested and taken to Immigration to ascertain whether or not they would have entered Guyana illegally, and if that was the case, they are usually sent back to Brazil and handed over to the authorities. He also mentioned that in cases whereby Haitians, Cubans, or any other foreign nationals try to enter Lethem, there are three checkpoints that the Division have in place at Kurupukari, Kirkwood, and Annai.