Dear Editor,
My experience at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on December 24 is cause for great concern.
On that day, at approximately 4 am, I was in a wheelchair being wheeled by a helper. After checking in at the Caribbean Airlines (CAL) counter, immigration officials, paying my exit fee and being checked by a police officer, I was asked for my carry-on baggage to be checked.
I had a total of eleven thousand Guyana dollar bills in the bag, in addition to some other notes.
The police officer took my shoulder bag, turned it around so that the pockets were facing her and the back of the bag facing me. Because I was sitting in the wheelchair, my range of vision was limited with what the security officer was doing. However, the unusually long time she took rummaging in my bag made me suspicious and so I raised my head to try and take a peek at the goings-on. She then uttered a strange question that made me more suspicious: she said, “Like you get some keys in here” (I had no keys nor anything of the sort in the bag).
The way she was rummaging in the bag you’d think she was digging for gold – literally. This security officer was remarkable as not only was she behaving like a pork-knocker, but also you’d think she was a magician with her deft sleight-of-hand dexterity. (She was wearing a long-sleeved coat on top of her police uniform. Rather strange dress, since it was not raining at the CJIA, nor was it cold in the building. But there was a method to her madness.)
The security officer fastidiously pulled her long sleeve over her left hand to cover the entire hand including her fingers as she passed an object from the right had to the left inside the bag. After she finished her foraging, she handed the bag to me. I opened it and saw my money at the very opening of the bag. I examined the contents of the bag and there were at least two thousand dollars missing. (I had paid $4,000 for the exit fee, so there should have been seven thousand dollars left – but only five thousand dollars remained).
After questioning her about the money, she plonked her cell phone, a pen and four thousand dollar bills on my lap, and said, “Dis is all I have, and dis is wha’ ah de bring to wuk.”
My wheeler and I discussed the incident and she confirmed everything I observed. I informed the CAL representative near the exit gate of the incident as I returned to the security department to make a report. The more senior officer took my details (name, address, flight #, email address, etc) and promised, “We gon look into it and get back to you.” I insisted on giving a written account of what transpired but she was not interested as she repeated, “We gon look into it.” The CAL representatives, in the meanwhile, found me with the senior security officer and recorded the essential details, but so far, have not communicated with me. They assured me that there is a camera in the area and it would have recorded what transpired.
I am writing this letter not so much because I lost $2,000, but to point out the tremendous lapse that occurs in the security departments at CJIA. Drugs and other illegal products could have been placed easily in my bag. And jewellery and other precious items could have been easily stolen. The sequel to that experience about two hours later in Trinidad was remarkably different. The security officer at the Piarco airport called my attention by saying, “Sir, please look here as I examine your bag.”
Unfortunately, such theft is not unique to Guyana. I’ve experienced similar loss in India, as have other travellers in other parts of the world.
Travellers should examine the contents of their bags before and after they are screened and examined, and should keep an eye constantly on their baggage. I also suggest that precious items such as jewellery, cash and credit cards should be put in a small bag or case, which should be securely closed. If the officer wishes to have a look, they would need to do so in front of the traveller.
I am still waiting to hear from the security department of CJIA and the CAL reps, and would like to know if that pork-knocker/magician is still waving her magic wand with other outgoing travellers!
Yours faithfully,
Devanand Bhagwan
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Mr Ramesh Ghir, Chief Executive Officer of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport for any comment he might wish to make.
