Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday sentenced a Nigerian to jail for two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.
Mohamed Lainie Samara pleaded guilty to both charges, the first of which stated that between April 6 and 10 at Moleson Creek, Corentyne – with intent to defraud, he conspired with persons known or unknown to him to fake a passport with name Addie Wayne Johnson, knowing same to be false.
The other charge stated that on the same day at Moleson Creek, he also presented to an immigration officer a fake national identification card.
The prosecution contended that Samara arrived in Guyana from St Lucia and was granted four months stay by immigration. According to the prosecution, Samara was heading to Suriname when he tendered his passport at Moleson Creek Immigration and it was realised that the passport number matched another person’s identity.
Samara told the Court that he was heading to Suriname when some people heard his accent and asked him if he was from Georgetown. He said that he did not understand what they meant and they subsequently offered to get him a passport and an identification card for him to transact business.
His lawyer, Attorney-at-Law Paul Fung-A-Fat told the Court that his client had a valid St Lucia passport and was a labourer and painter in St Lucia. He added that his client had three children and his wife was eight months pregnant. As such, Samara was fined $100,000 for each charge with an alternative of three weeks’ imprisonment. Fung-A-Fat opted for his client to serve his sentence and for his passport to be returned so he could return to his home in St Lucia; this request was granted by the Chief Magistrate.
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