Police yesterday afternoon arrested two Colombians and a Venezuelan at a city hotel in connection with investigations into the illegal airstrip found on Sunday in the Corentyne area.

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on Monday seized an illegal airstrip some 80 miles upriver from Orealla Village that had a burnt-out aircraft with a Venezuelan flag on it, along with a still smouldering all-terrain vehicle and a bulldozer which was in the middle of the airstrip.

The military said in a press release that it is believed that the airstrip was constructed to facilitate transshipment of narcotics and for the conduct of illegal activities.

The operation was launched on Monday morning following the sighting of the airstrip on Sunday during a routine flight. The pilot on over-flying the airstrip noticed the aircraft parked halfway up the airstrip and several persons clad in dark clothes emerging from the jungle.

On Tuesday, further checks by soldiers in the area where the illegal airstrip was found unearthed a camp with foodstuff and a generator.