Two foreign nationals who were arrested after an unmarked aircraft landed at an airstrip in Mahdia were on Tuesday morning charged with illegal entry and narcotics possession.
The men, 32-year-old Juan David Caicedo Villa, a pilot, of Villavicencio, Colombia, and 48-year-old Gustavo Adolfo Riascos Gomez, a pilot/businessman, of Tachira San Cristobal, Venezuela appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The charge against the men stated that on November 5, 2021, they entered Guyana illegally. They were also charged with having two grammes of marijuana in their possession. They denied both charges after they were read to them and were remanded to prison until November 16, 2021.
According to a Police release, the discovery of the six-seater red and white aircraft was made at around 18:00 hrs on Sunday, last. Police ranks of Mahdia Police Station observed an aircraft circling the Mahdia airstrip in an attempt to land around the aforesaid time.
As a result, a party of Policemen immediately went to the said airstrip. On arrival there five minutes later, the ranks saw a six-seater Piper Aire blue, red and white aircraft on the ground in front of the Trans Guyana hanger. The two foreign nationals were seen standing in front of the aircraft talking to the security guard and a ramp attendant.
When confronted by the Policemen, one of the men, said, “We are lost. We came from Venezuela and going to look for gold”. A search was conducted on the men and the plane but nothing illegal was found. The aircraft contained three 15 gallon drums – two of which contained fuel.
The other items found on the aircraft include a hammock with a net, a bag containing clothing and personal effects, identifications cards, a Garmin GPS, an Iridium Phone, one Icom radio set, one spot trace device, two phone chargers, one earpiece, one lighter, one torchlight, one Motorola phone, a Samsung phone, one knife, two wristwatches, a wallet, two grammes of cannabis and bamboo wrap.
The items and the aircraft have been lodged.
