By: Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |
Canadian Investigators Uncover Suspected Guyanese Luxury-Car Duty-Evasion Ring — Explosive Audio Emerges
Canadian law-enforcement authorities appear to be closing in on what may be a major transnational luxury-car duty-evasion ring with direct links to Guyana, following the discovery of explosive audio recordings believed to feature a prominent Guyanese auto dealer giving step-by-step instructions on how to alter vehicles before shipment in order to evade duties.
According to sources close to the investigation, the recordings capture a Guyanese high-end vehicle importer allegedly discussing how to “retag” or re-VIN luxury vehicles so they can be disguised as lower-engine models before being shipped to Georgetown.
Retagging — an illegal practice used to alter a vehicle’s VIN or engine classification — enables importers to evade billions of dollars in taxes and duties, depriving the Guyanese state of significant revenue. Investigators say the scheme may also explain the influx of ultra-luxury vehicles entering Guyana at suspiciously low declared values.
In the recording, the Guyanese importer speaks casually and confidently, even boasting that he has “customs on lock in Guyana” and that “nobody checks anything.” He assures the exporter that paperwork and inspections pose no obstacles and that shipments would be “smooth” due to alleged connections within the system.
At one point, he claims to have already secured “two duty-free” arrangements for high-value vehicles — a statement investigators say points to possible fraudulent use of duty exemptions intended strictly for legitimate beneficiaries.
Another segment of the audio has raised further concerns among Canadian authorities. The man insists he avoids doing business in the United States because he does not like to “mess with the U.S.” Instead, he says he feels “safe” operating through Canada and the Caribbean — a detail that investigators have flagged as significant given Canada’s increasingly strict vehicle-export monitoring protocols.
Authorities believe the recordings may be the breakthrough needed to expose what they suspect is a long-running, well-organized luxury-car smuggling and tax-evasion network, potentially involving both Guyanese and overseas operatives.
Canadian investigators are now examining whether the network exploited weak oversight mechanisms in Guyana to move high-value vehicles into the country under falsified declarations.
The probe is ongoing, and more details are expected as authorities continue to analyze the recording and pursue leads connected to the alleged network.
