Plane lands, 3 escape as another illegal airstrip unearthed in Region 9

After receiving reports of a foreign aircraft frequenting the Santa Fe Area, North Rupununi, Region 9, over the last four weeks, a party of police under the command of a Senior Officer, proceeded to the area where checks led to the discovery of, what is believed to be, an illegal airstrip and over a dozen ten-gallon jars in the bushes.

This information was relayed by Police Press Officer, Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan, who in a release noted that as the party was leaving, they observed an aircraft circling some distance away and on returning to the cleared area, they saw three men running from the aircraft which by then had landed.

According to Ramlakhan after the aircraft was secured, reinforcement from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and another party of policemen led by the Commander of ‘F’ Division Senior Superintendent Ravindradat Budhram, departed Lethem about mid-night on Sunday and arrived at the location around 02:00hrs on Monday morning.

Just recently, a GDF patrol while conducting a reconnaissance mission in Region 9, approximately 5 kilometers (km) west of Santa Fe, Rupununi, discovered what is believed to be an illegal makeshift airstrip where several dug out trenches, one chainsaw, an axe and a 1/4 drum of aviation fuel were among other things discovered.

Moreover, soldiers found 12 abandoned camps at the said location.

Authorities had launched a thorough investigation into the find which they said is representative of the challenges faced by the security Forces in the Hinterland region.

So far no arrests have been made in connection with that illegal airstrip, nor this one unearthed by the police.