(Kaieteur News) – Three Brazilian nationals have been convicted and fined after illegally entering the Lethem Airstrip in the Central Rupununi — a restricted aviation facility — in a case that highlights growing concerns about security at Guyana’s hinterland aerodromes.

Jose Carlos Casto Bibeiro, 28, a mechanic from Terezina; Clebson Raoni, 37, a carpenter from São Paulo; and Lucis Silva Marth, 35, an operator from Boa Vista, appeared before Magistrate Omadatt Chandan at the Lethem Magistrates’ Court on Friday to answer charges of trespassing on an aerodrome — an offence under Section 83(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2018.

The trio had been found on the grounds of the Lethem Airstrip on Wednesday without authorisation. Upon their court appearance, the charges were read and translated to the men by a court-appointed translator, given that all three are Portuguese speakers. Each entered a guilty plea.