A 42-year-old Venezuelan who entered the country illegally and was discovered when police raided the home where he was staying, was fined $25,000 and ordered deported when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Jesus Manarique pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal entry and was fined $25,000 with an alternative of six weeks imprisonment by Magistrate Oneidge Waldron-Allicock, who also ordered that he be deported.

According to the facts of the case, on November 7 at Pomeroon, Manarique entered Guyana by land and failed to present himself to the nearest immigration officer. His presence in Guyana was discovered when police who were conducting raids around Georgetown, acting on information received, went to a home on Duncan Street where the defendant was arrested. During interrogation, he claimed that he came into the country by sea without a passport.

He was informed of the offence committed and arrested and charged.

Attorney-at-law Adrian Thompson who appeared for Manarique said that his client came to do mining but his papers were not sorted out as yet and he was “not part of an invasion team.”

After listening to the submissions, the magistrate handed down the sentence and ordered that Manarique be deported immediately.