Just weeks after discovering an illegal airstrip in the Santa Fe, North Rupununi area, Police investigators have found an illegal aircraft on another illegal airstrip in the area.
In a statement on Monday, the Guyana Police Force revealed that the discovery took place late yesterday afternoon, moments after members of the Police Force had completed a monitoring exercise of the area.
According to the Police, since the discovery of the illegal airstrip, there has been regular monitoring of the area.
On Sunday, during one of the monitoring exercises, the law enforcement officers found over a dozen ten-gallon drums in the bushes and observed that a long strip of land had been cleared.
As the group of investigators was leaving, they observed an aircraft circling some distance away. They returned to the area moments after the aircraft landed and spotted three men running away from the aircraft.
The aircraft was secured and remains under guard. Additional reinforcement was added from the Guyana Defence Force.
Additionally, another party of policemen led by the Commander of ‘F’ Division, Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, departed Lethem about mid-night last night and arrived at the location about 02:00hrs this morning. They carried out checks of the aircraft and discovered a quantity of dry ration, medical supplies, gents clothing and footwear, two hand-held radios, flashlights, cellular phones and an identification card amongst other items.
The aircraft has been identified as a Beechcraft King Air aircraft, which is an executive small aircraft.
The cleared area where the aircraft landed is over one mile long and about fifty feet wide. It appears to have been recently graded.
The Civil Aviation Authority has been notified and immediately arrangements are being operationalized for a multi-agency team to be flown to that area to conduct further investigations, according to the Police.
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