Three persons, including a minibus driver are currently in police custody after they were arrested at an illegal Guyana/Brazil border crossing. At the time, they were attempting to pick up nine Brazilian nationals.
According to reports, police went to Sand Pit, Takutu River, Region Nine around 18:30hrs, yesterday. They met two men loading luggage on to minibus BRR 4856.
The ranks, upon looking into the bus, discovered nine Brazilian nationals. The passengers along with the driver were told to exit the vehicle. The driver told the ranks that he was hired to transport the passengers to Georgetown by one of the men who was seen packing the minibus.
The Brazilian nationals were immediately transported back to Bom Fin in neigbouring Brazil and handed over to the Brazilian Federal Police. In relation to the bus driver and the two men, they were arrested and later released on bail pending the outcome of the investigation.
Due to the rise in cases of COVID-19, Guyana closed its border with Brazil. The border with Brazil is about 1,000 miles long.
Brazil has so far recorded over 1.6 million coronavirus cases with more than 65,000 deaths.
So far, Guyana has recorded 16 deaths. The last victim is 76-year- old, May Portsmouth, who passed yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.