Latest update August 24th, 2026 10:25 AM
Latest News
- Grief, protests, and a G$1.4B abandoned wharf
- ‘Guyana is the place to be, world class mining area’ – new Australian gold firm
- Exxon shuts down operations on Liza Unity after small fire in laundry room
- ‘I know he’s dead’ – mother accepts loss of missing MV Barima crewman
- Chinese Landing residents hold firm in Tassawini standoff
SOCU breaks up gold smuggling operations in Mahdia
—Brazilian nabbed with $17M cash, raw gold
Kaieteur News- A Brazilian national was arrested on Wednesday by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for an alleged gold smuggling operation in Mahdia, Region Eight.
Brazilian businessman, Osmil Da Silva
A substantial quantity of raw gold, equipment, documents and over $17 million in cash were seized during the operation.
According to a statement from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), SOCU led a joint operation in Central Mahdia, which resulted in the arrest of Brazilian businessman Osmil Da Silva at his business place, Filhao Shop.
Deputy Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh, the head of SOCU, indicated that SOCU officers were able to halt the alleged smuggling operation before the seized gold was transported across the border.
“This latest success is part of the continued efforts by law enforcement agencies to disrupt the illicit gold trade and safeguard Guyana’s mineral resources. The outcome of yesterday’s (Wednesday) operation reinforces the seriousness with which national security agencies are responding to illegal mining and smuggling activities,” police said.
The money that was found in Osmil Da Silva’s place of business
The Police Force stated that “this incident also adds to a growing list of cases involving Brazilian nationals operating unlawfully within Guyana’s gold-mining regions.”
“In March 2025, two Brazilian nationals were arrested in Lethem, Region 9, during an operation that led to the seizure of a large quantity of gold and over Gy$26 million in cash. In a separate operation in April, two more Brazilian nationals, along with a Cuban and a Guyanese, were taken into custody after authorities confiscated more than Gy$30 million in gold and Gy$31 million in cash,” police said.
Notwithstanding the busts, the police said that the increasing frequency of the incidents raises serious concerns about the scale and organisation of transnational gold smuggling networks operating in Guyana.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
hits
Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
