Guyana: 2 foreign pilots remanded into custody for illegally entering airspace

Guyana: Georgetown Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan ordered to take in custody two foreign pilots that landed their small aircraft in the Mahdia, area of Region Eight last week.

These two men on November 4 2021 entered the airspace of Guyana illegally. 2 accused have been identified as Juan David Caicedo Villa (32) – a pilot by profession based in Villavicencio, Colombia and 48-year-old Gustavo Adolfo Riascos Gomez, a pilot and businessman from Tachira San Cristobal in Venezuela.

According to the reports, both the men have also been charged for possession of 2 grams of marijuana. These two pilots pleaded not guilty to the charges, and they were both sent into custody for a remand until the next court hearing on November 16. The Magistrate’s Court heard that the plane landed without authorisation on a runway.

The pilots are claiming that after they took off from Venezuela, they lost their path following the take-off.

In a statement last week, the police said that the aircraft circled the airstrip before landing at about 18:00 on Thursday and later informed law enforcement authorities qouting pilots’ statement: “We are lost, we came from Venezuela and going to look for gold.”

The police said that both men and aircraft had been checked, and nothing illegal stuff was found, yet three 15 gallon drums, one was empty, and two were filled with fuel, a bag with clothing and personal items and a hammock with the net was found from the pilots.

Police found a black bag with some documents in it. The aircraft is currently under police guard while both men were arrested and placed into custody till further investigation.