Brazilian miners fined for illegal gold purchase in Lethem

Two Brazilian nationals were fined on Tuesday after pleading guilty to purchasing gold from unauthorised sources in violation of Guyana’s mining laws.

The men—58-year-old Jose Antonio Rodrigues Dos Santos and 36-year-old Isac Aguiar Abreu, both miners from Boa Vista, Brazil—were arrested on 22 September 2025 and charged with the offence of purchasing gold from a person other than the Guyana Gold Board or its authorised agents.

The charge was brought under Section 7(2) of the Guyana Gold Board Act, Chapter 66:01, and is in contravention of Section 23 of the same legislation.

When they appeared before Magistrate Omadatt Chandan at the Lethem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, the charge was read to them separately. Both defendants pleaded guilty.

They were each fined $75,000, with an alternative of seven months’ imprisonment if the fine is not paid.