A husband and wife were yesterday each fined $100,000 after they pleaded guilty to forging Canadian Visas.
With the aid of a translator, Pankajumar Patel, 34, and Roshaniben Patel, 32, both Indian nationals, were read separate charges by Magistrate Judy Latchman in Georgetown.
Each was charged with uttering to a Fly Jamaica Airlines customer service agent a forged Canadian Visa, inserted in their respective passports and purporting to show same was issued by the Government of Canada, on February 22nd, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri.
The husband and wife were both represented by attorney Adrian Thompson, who told the court that they went through the proper channel to obtain the Canadian Visas, but there seemed to have been a mix-up on the Embassy’s part. He noted that his clients had no idea that the Visas were forged.
Police prosecutor Arvin Moore told the court that the couple came to Guyana on February 14th, through the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, and were granted a month’s stay. On February 22nd, the accused were on their way to Canada and presented their passports to the agent at the CJIA and investigations later revealed that the documents were not authentic. They were later taken off the flight, told of their crime and handed over to Criminal Investigation Department.
Magistrate Latchman later fined each defendant $100,000 each or a default sentence of 12 months in jail.
