…over 17,000 gallons of smuggled fuel seized
A captain and members of his crew are currently in custody following the discovery of more than 80,000 litres (17, 597.5 gallons) of smuggled fuel in their vessel.
The discovery was made by officers from the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). The officers recently intercepted MV Plumrose with a quantity of liquid that was later tested and confirmed to be hydrocarbons in the form of diesel fuel.
During a search of the vessel, the officers discovered that even though the intended use of the vessel was for “fishing purposes”, MV Plumrose was converted for fuel transport.
The Captain and crew are assisting the GRA with the ongoing investigations, and charges are expected to be laid shortly. Meanwhile, representatives of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) were contacted by the GRA, and the two agencies were now collaborating on the investigation.
On the other hand, the revenue collection body said that it has seen a rise in fuel smuggling over the past few weeks, with the interception of more vessels, which will lead to a substantial amount of rev-enue being recovered.
In April, authorities had detained shipping vessel Jubilee after it was discovered with over 200,000 gal-lons of suspected smuggled fuel, when it entered the Georgetown port and its officials failed to dis-close that it had fuel to customs officials until checks were made. The company struck a deal with the GRA to pay G$36 million in taxes.
Meanwhile, the GEA in April had said that it has seized in excess of 9000 gallons of gasoline and diesel in the first quarter of the year with its inspectors having visited 3191 sites and collected 8339 fuel sam-ples.
As it relates to fuel smuggling statistics in 2017, a total of 11,000 gallons of illegal gasoline and diesel were seized in 29 discoveries in 2017 following 12,882 site visits and 33,891 samples collected. This re-sulted in six convictions, while compensation was accepted from four individuals in the sum of G$1,237,000.
The Authority said it has taken a relentless approach against smuggling and will be working in close col-laboration with its sister agencies to minimise these activities.
Over the past year, the GRA has recouped billions of dollars in taxes from seizures and auctions not only from illegal fuel, but also from breaches in motor vehicle concessions and IDA’s, and commonly smuggled items which include alcohol, foreign imported chicken, and mosquito coils.
The GRA wishes to advise persons to cease and desist from smuggling activities, failing which, instead of accepting fines, the relevant charges will be instituted in a court of law.
