News Room Reports : Three foreign nationals caught operating illegal gold mining operations within the Iwokrama Forest Protected Area have been convicted and sentenced to five months imprisonment each, in what the Iwokrama International Centre is hailing as a significant enforcement victory — even as fresh concerns emerge over the growing presence of river dredges in the area.
The three miners — two Brazilian nationals and one Venezuelan — were arrested on December 10, 2025, during a joint enforcement mission involving the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Iwokrama Rangers and the Guyana Police Force, after being caught red-handed conducting illegal mining operations within the protected forest. Following three months of court hearings and testimony from nine witnesses, the defendants changed their pleas to guilty on April 16, 2026, and were fined under the GGMC Act before being sentenced.
Iwokrama’s management expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Natural Resources, GGMC, the Guyana Police Force, the Protected Areas Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency for their support, and extended special thanks to Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack and DPP Prosecutor Ms. Daniels, whom the Centre credited as instrumental in securing the conviction.
However, the Centre has now raised alarm over a separate and growing threat — the increasing presence of “Draggers,” or river dredges, in and around the protected area. Management noted with grave concern that one dragger had to be removed by GGMC in February from an area considered vital to nearby communities and tourism operators due to its charismatic aquatic wildlife.
More troubling, a suspected illegal dragger was observed under construction at Kurupukari Landing — not a designated mining landing — as far back as January 2026, being built by Brazilian nationals without work permits. When ordered to stop by GPF Immigration in February, the individuals relocated to Chinie Landing, a designated mining landing, and continued construction, still without work permits. The legality of mining papers presented at that location remains unclear.
A further dragger is currently under construction at Chinie Landing, this one involving foreign nationals who possess work permits and have shown police a map indicating plans to mine further downstream along the Essequibo River.
Iwokrama reminded the public that gold mining is absolutely prohibited within the Iwokrama Forest and in the rivers that buffer the protected area under the Iwokrama Act 1996, and that such activities pose a direct threat to Guyana’s ecological integrity, local livelihoods, the country’s Green agenda and Iwokrama’s international certification.
Members of the public travelling along the Iwokrama 72-kilometre stretch of the Georgetown–Lethem road are being urged to report any suspicious activity to Dr. Raquel Thomas, Director of Resource Management and Training, at training@iwokrama.org or via WhatsApp at +592 639 3216.
