Vendor fined $20,000 for selling firecrackers

Daniel Smith, 20, a vendor of Sparendaam New Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, was on Tuesday charged and fined $20,000 for selling firecrackers.

Smith was arrested at the Anna Regina Old Market on the Essequibo Coast on Sunday last.

He appeared at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty.

If he is unable to pay the fine, he faces one week imprisonment.

Three other vendors were arrested and a number of firecrackers were seized during a police raid at the Stabroek Market on Saturday last.

Guyana’s laws contain fines as high as G$97,000 with the possibility of jail time if people are found in possession of these apparatus.

Outlined in Chapter 16:06 of the Explosive Act of 2015, it states that “no explosives shall be kept for sale, or shall be stored for any purpose within the limits of the City of Georgetown and the town of New Amsterdam” without the permission of the Minister-in-charge.

The only agency with permission to do so is the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The Act states that persons must obtain a license to sell explosives on a wholesale basis, but this license would only be granted if there is evidence of sufficient fireproof storage capacity.