Canje man fined over protected-birds smuggling

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56536158

Canje man fined over protected-birds smuggling
SN, Thursday, January 3rd 2008


Reepdewan Gupta Sukhram in court yesterday.

Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle fined a US-based man $10,000 after he
admitted that he was trying to export 30 protected birds in his hand
luggage as he prepared to board a flight at the airport.

Reepdewan Gupta Sukhram, 44, of North Carolina, USA and Betsy Ground,
East Canje, Berbice, pleaded guilty to the charge of exporting species
of birds requiring protection when it was read to him in the Georgetown
Magistrate's Court yesterday. In handing down the fine, the magistrate
also told Sukhram that he will be disqualified from obtaining a licence
for export for one year.

According to the facts of the case Sukhram, on Decem-ber 31, at the
Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri was exporting 28 Towa Towa
birds and two Twa Twa birds without obtaining a permit or a certificate
from the management authority.

Around 8.30 am police from the narcotics branch searched Sukhram, who
was an outgoing passenger on a North American Airlines flight, when the
birds were found in boxes and plastic containers in his luggage. He was
told of the offence being committed, arrested and later charged.

Sukhram said he is the manager of a sewing factory which makes police,
nurse and fire-fighters uniforms. He said 15 minutes before boarding
his flight he gave the birds tranquilizers so that they would not make
any noise. He said they were discovered when police checked his bag
shortly after it had been scanned. Sukhram acknowledged that his
wrongdoing, adding that, "This is the first time that I am doing this."

When the magistrate asked Sukhram why he had all those birds, he told
the court that he is a bird lover and he has a huge cage in his garage
with seventy-five kinds of birds from all over the world. The only
birds he didn't have, he said, are those from Guyana. "I bought them at
$2,500 a piece. They are wild birds from up the Berbice River," Sukhram
added.

Matthews later said that the birds will have to remain in the custody
of the State because Sukhram did not have a licence to keep them.
However, Suhkram's attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat said the birds could be
returned to his client as he spent a lot of money for them. He said the
man is only prohibited from leaving the country with them and it would
be unfair not to return them to him, especially since one had died. He
said the police do not have a proper facility to accommodate the birds.

The court also heard that the wildlife authority had provided a cage
for the birds and at the end of the matter, they could be given to the
zoo or they can be set free.

At the end of the arguments, the court said that the section of the Act
that deals with enforcement states that the court can order that the
birds be confiscated to the State.