27 Haitians, 1 Cuban arrested in Brazil after leaving Guyana illegally- CANU

Last Updated on Saturday, 27 February 2021, 11:03 by Denis Chabrol

Twenty-seven Haitians and one Cuban have been arrested in Bon-Fim, a neighbouring Brazilian town, after they allegedly left Lethem, Guyana illegally, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) said Saturday.

CANU said Brazilian Federal Police nabbed the suspected illegal immigrants last Friday night into early Saturday morning under a memorandum of understanding between the two law enforcement agencies that was recently signed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

CANU said, “in what can be described as an example of  cross border cooperation,” taxi drivers who were waiting to transport the aliens were also arrested by Brazilian police.

CANU explained that a number of the Haitians arrived in Lethem during this past week and were initially denied entry in to Brazil. “It was suspected that they would try to use other routes to cross over hence the information was passed on to Brazilian Counterparts by CANU who then alerted their law enforcement units within the area,” the unit said.

That unit, which is , which is part of Guyana’s Ministry of Home Affairs,  hailed the arrest as “one of the successes coming out of this arrangement. The movement of persons through unofficial crossings not only poses a security risk but also a health risk due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, the agency added.