US woman admits to attempting to smuggle birds out of Guyana

[www.inewsguyana.com] – A 27 – year-old Guyanese-American citizen appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, accused of attempting to smuggle protected birds out of Guyana without a legal permit to do so.

It is alleged that on October 31, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Ranjit Singh Thakurdin, without obtaining the necessary permit, attempted to smuggle out of Guyana 18 Towa Towa Birds without being the holder of an export/ import license.

She pleaded guilty to the offense. The court heard that on the day in question, at about 16:20 hrs, the woman was an outgoing passenger on a Caribbean Airlines flight, destined for the JFK International Airport, New York.

As Thakurdin was passing her luggage through a security screen, ranks at the luggage department observed peculiar images displayed. After carting her luggage aside, a further search was conducted where Officers observed hidden inside hair curlers, 18 Towa-Towa’s birds and 29 other species of birds, concealed within her luggage.

Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan eventually fined the accused $75,000 and disqualified her from obtaining any form of permits from the necessary authorities to conduct such exports of Guyana’s animals for the duration of 12 months.