Illegal Brazilian nationals being trafficked through the Iwokrama Forest

The officials from the Iwokrama Rainforest are deeply concerned about transport operators who are conducting illegal activities within its perimeter.

They noted that on June 13, two buses passed with groups of illegal persons who most likely came from Brazil. The buses and drivers have been identified.
However, again on July 6, 2020, at the ranger station at Corkwood, the Police found three illegal Brazilians on a bus and as such, the bus was turned back and the illegals were dropped off at Oasis Restaurant and the bus continued to Georgetown.
In another instance, Iwokrama staffers unearthed yet another very disturbing development within the Iwokrama Forest – secret ways of bypassing the monitoring stations and getting illegals past the Police at Corkwood and Kurupukari.
A few days later, two persons were caught coming out of one of these trails – one Brazilian and one Guyanese. They were handed over to Police, and the Brazilian has since been deported. Investigations are continuing on the detained Guyanese to assess whether or not he was a trafficker or a guide.
“Iwokrama management is taking this situation very seriously as trafficking of illegal persons is criminal and poses a serious health risk to community residents, but also residents of Georgetown and further afield,” the conservation reserve stated in a missive to the media.
It added that the COVID-19 health situation was very serious, and Iwokrama’s management was requesting that transport providers be very careful and pay attention to the situation at hand.
There is an upsurge of cases now in the Rupununi and most of these are linked to persons crossing the border.
In light of the recent developments, Iwokrama’s management along with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Public Health Ministry will be closely monitoring all vehicles passing through the forest.
“If found culpable of bringing illegal persons through the Iwokrama Forest or engaging in any other illegal activity, we will be working with these authorities to ban these vehicles from passing through the Iwokrama Forest for at least THREE months in the first instance,” Iwokrama stated.
Meanwhile, the Health and Citizenship Ministries will also be taking action as well so that those passengers and traffickers will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
“Further infractions will lead to more draconian action, including a permanent ban of such vehicles from entering the Iwokrama Forest,” the missive noted.