Illegal foreign flights escalate over Guyana's protected areas

Illegal foreign flights escalate over Guyana’s protected areas

Jul 13, 2026 News

…Kanashen Toshao raises alarm as GDF’s confirmed several arrested

By Khadidja Ba

(Kaieteur News) – Toshao of Kanashen, Joseph Ayaw, has raised alarm over a surge in unauthorised foreign aircraft violating the airspace of the indigenous protected area in Region Nine. Speaking on the worsening situation along the Guyana-Brazil border, Toshao Ayaw confirmed with KN that foreign planes and helicopters are systematically flying over their lands, with the frequency of the incursions escalating sharply in recent days.

“The plane and the helicopters are traversing over the protected area within our village,” Toshao Ayaw stated. “But it’s not the first time, it’s happening before, ever since. Recently, last week, before I left from home, there was a plane traversing four times in a day. Sometimes it’s six times in a day, within a week.”

Kanashen Toshao raises alarm over mysterious flights; GDF confirms several arrested

A photo taken of one of the many suspicious planes flying over the Protected Area

The leader explained that aircraft are regularly observed traversing from the western side of the border heading toward eastern locations. Ayaw strongly suspects these flights are directly tied to illegal mining operations operating right on the edge of the national boundary.

“Based on the report I got, there is a mining going on…I’m on the Brazil border, but they are within the Guyana boundary. I don’t know because a lot of planes and helicopters are traversing,” Ayaw said. He clarified that while there is currently “no large-scale and no medium-scale” mining happening directly inside the village’s protected area (PA), only traditional, small-scale “artisanal mining” by residents, the foreign incursions remain a threat to their territory.

Toshoa Joseph Ayaw

Ayaw noted that past enforcement proved these flights are linked to illegal cross-border syndicates, recalling a previous incident where state authorities intervened. “The last time I made a report also, the Brazilians were caught at the mining and the helicopter… the whole of the helicopter land and the people were taken to Georgetown, but I’m not sure what takes place after that. You know, there are a lot of miners, a lot of private helicopters. These miners, they don’t have anything, no respect for the territory.”

Despite the escalating threat, the Toshao expressed deep frustration with the lack of support from central government and security agencies. Ayaw revealed that he directly confronted Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, during a Toshaos meeting last week to demand updates on an unfulfilled promise made by the same minister last year at the National Toshao Council.

“Last year, he made a commitment to the Toshaos concerning the same illegal plane flying within that area, Marudi and Kanashen. And he said that he has a plan to do an aerial overflight. He said he’s willing to help assist the Toshaos with that, but he never fulfilled his promise,” Ayaw said. When raised again yesterday, Minister Bharrat reportedly pushed the timeline further down the road, blaming the current wet weather. “He said that he’s looking into that as soon as the weather, when the dry season steps in, he will look into that. Currently, the weather is like rain, wet season, so he will not be able to conduct the aerial overflight at this time.”

The Toshao has met similar roadblocks with the military, having logged formal complaints with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) multiple times this year with zero feedback. “The last time I made a report is just after March, then during May month, again, I made a report. It’s two times I made a report, but nothing so far. No update on the response,” Ayaw stated. He noted that the military has been equally hampered by weather disruptions. “GDF, they cannot even help. They cannot even support on that because as soon as rain drizzle, they cancel the flight.”

While well-placed GDF sources claimed to this newspaper that a joint operation was conducted as recently as last month resulting in several arrests by police, the Police Commander of Region 9, Mohamed Ally denied any knowledge of the operation, stating it was “not to my knowledge.”

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GDF, Kanashen, mysterious flights, Toshao

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