Lethem man busted with large quantity of smuggled beers from Brazil
A Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) resident was arrested on Saturday after he was intercepted with more than 250 cases of beer that were smuggled from neighbouring Brazil.
The suspect’s vehicle loaded with the smuggled beers from Brazil
The discovery was made by ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) near Guyana’s border with Brazil.
According to reports from the agency, the suspect (name given) was found with some 251 cases of the smuggled beer.
It was noted that CANU ranks were conducting a routine operation in the Region when they intercepted the Lethem man attempting to transport the smuggled beers.
The smuggled beers hidden behind a clump of bushes
At the time, the suspect was attempting to load onto the tray of his pick-up vehicle, the alcoholic beverages which were hidden under a clump of bushes near the Guyana-Brazil border.
The smuggled items have all been handed over to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for further investigation.
Meanwhile, CANU said on Sunday that it would continue to “conduct surveillance operations and provide support for its fellow inter-agencies to minimise and eradicate illicit narcotic and related activities nationwide”.
Even though Guyana’s borders have been closed since March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities here have been grappling with monitoring the border communities especially those along the Brazilian border.
Only last month, there were reports of another Lethem resident being arrested for smuggling a quantity of beers and rum from the bordering town of Bon Fim in Brazil.
It was reported that on June 3, 2020, Police went to Mango Grove crossing in Lethem, where they discovered a 36-year-old man pushing the items in a wheelbarrow.
They confronted the man and discovered that the items included 52 cases of Brazilian beers, 40 cases of Black Stone rum and four boxes of cosmetics – all of which were seized.
Places on the porous border such as the Mango Grove crossing have been a cause for worry for citizens in nearby communities in Guyana as well as authorities, since Brazil is one of the countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Portuguese-speaking nation currently has over two million COVID-19 cases with deaths exceeding 80,000.
