Surinamese ‘backtrack’ trio fined $20,000 each

…after Cheryl’s invitation
Three Suriname nationals yesterday pleaded guilty to the charge of entering Guyana illegally when it was read to them by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

It is alleged that on March 9 at Berbice  31-year-old Emmanuel Ekezie, a bar tender, 25-year-old Raphael Chijikie, a bar tender also, and 36-year-old Edwin Olisa, a clothes vendor,  entered Guyana from Suriname by sea and did not forthwith present themselves to an immigration officer.

According to the defendants, they were invited to Guyana by a female friend who they identified as Cheryl. They further went on to say that upon their arrival in Guyana, they tried to make telephone contact with the said Cheryl but they got no response.

According to Police Prosecutor Denise Griffith, the trio was apprehended by the police who acted on intelligence gathered.

They were fined $20,000 each or 12 months imprisonment and will be deported to Suriname.