Guyanese pilot Khamraj Lall has been detained in Puerto Rico over cash amounting to US$620,000 which was found in the private plane he was in on November 22.
According to Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, US federal agents at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport on the Caribbean island detected the large sum stashed in plastic bags during routine investigations.
The large sum of money had not been declared to US authorities and was detected during a search of the aircraft.
Lall, the report said, was the passenger of a private plane that landed in Isla Verde on November 22, according to an affidavit by a federal agent.
It had stopped to refuel with the intention of continuing to Georgetown, Guyana according to information from the electronic file of the Federal Court.
Primera Hora said it was reported that Customs officers asked the detainee to report how much cash he was carrying. However, Lall, who was traveling with his father and the pilot of the aircraft, initially reported only US$5,000 between him and his father but later said the two had US$12,000.
US authorities require that sums over US$10,000 be reported.
On closer inspection of the plane, officers found US$150,000 first “wrapped in plastic bags and a blanket near an exit,” according to the statement of the federal agent.
Subsequently, in a compartment near a motor, several black garbage bags with the other US$470,000 were found. Lall said that all the money was his. He said his father and the pilot knew nothing about the high amount of cash carried in the aircraft, the report said.
Judge Marcos Lopez issued an arrest warrant for Lall. He faces charges of falsely filling federal reports and smuggling more than US$600,000, the report said.
Lall’s profile on http://execjetclub.com says “Mr. Kem Lall migrated to the United States of America 30 years ago in pursuit of his dreams in aviation. He graduated from the College of Aeronautics with a Bachelors Degree in Technology and Engineering, and later obtained his pilot license.
He has been flying since 1994 and holds a PIC ( Pilot-In-Command) type rating approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He has worked for Pan American airlines as an engineer for five (5) year until they closed their operation in 1991 and for the past 15 years he has been freelancing with Ringwood Airport in New Jersey as a flight instructor.
In 1992, Mr. Lall started his own business “K.L.X Logistics Inc” located at 13 Edward Hart Drive, Jersey City which offered trucking and warehouse services, and was operational from 1995 to 2010.
In 2007, he purchased a gas station now known as the Kaylee’ Service Station located at Coverden, East Bank Demerara as part of his investment plans in Guyana and later expanded his venture when he introduced Quin’s Special Events & Services compose of two limousines.
In pursuit of his dreams, Mr. Lall acquired a Westwind 1 Aircraft, which is a light executive jet that will be operating an international private service from Guyana to the North America, South America and the Caribbean. This service is the first of its kind in Guyana and Mr. Lall has many more plans that will surely boost the aviation and tourism sector in our economy.”
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