A Brazilian man who told the court that he used a bicycle to get to Guyana for a better life was this morning charged with entering Guyana illegally.
Jose Lopez Ferreira pleaded guilty to the charge which alleged that, between March 30, 2019 and April 2, 2019, at Lethem, he entered Guyana by crossing the land frontier and did not present himself to an immigration officer. The 50-year-old appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The man, who spoke through an interpreter, admitted, “Yes I am guilty. I rode my bike from Lethem to Guyana to work and get a better life.”
Facts presented by Police Prosecutor Gordon Mansfield stated that, on April 10, 2019, the defendant was stopped by ranks in the Berbice Division who were conducting a stop-and-search operation at the Berbice Bridge. When asked to produce his passport and travel documents, the defendant failed to do so.
Hence, he was arrested and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The court heard, with the aid of an interpreter, that while in custody, he admitted that he is not the owner of a passport.
The Magistrate, after listening to the facts, fined Ferreira $30,000 or, in default, four weeks of imprisonment.
Upon paying the fine or serving the time, he will be escorted to the nearest port of exit and sent back to Brazil.
Why ask to pay fine when him don’t have any money that is why he ride his bike to look work because he wouldn’t find any work in his own country and why would you want to lock him up cruel ty humans being should show mercy on others he was only trying a thing