A 30-year-old driver has been arrested after police in Suriname said about 850 kilograms of copper smuggled from Guyana was found in his vehicle.

According to a KEY News report, the driver, identified only as I.B., was stopped during a routine check at the Burnside checkpoint on the morning of Saturday, October 3. Officers found 30 bags of copper pipes, power cables and air-conditioning lines in the boot and on the back seat.

I.B. said he bought the goods in Nickerie but could not produce a receipt.

Following consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, he was remanded in custody. Police seized the copper and the vehicle.

In September, Guyana's the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry threatened to shut down the local scrap-metal trade if illegal copper trading and the theft of public infrastructure continued. The warning followed the theft of about 90 feet of heavy-duty copper cable, valued at $1.62 million, from the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge.

The ministry said licensed scrap-metal dealers found buying, receiving or selling illegally obtained copper would face immediate cancellation of their licences and possible prosecution. It added that enforcement against illegal operators would be intensified.

Two men were charged over the theft. Roy Morgan, 39, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to simple larceny. Mustafid Pashaw, 51, was granted $300,000 bail on a charge of receiving stolen articles.

Investigations into the Burnside seizure are continuing.