LUANA, St Elizabeth — Police on Friday issued a stern warning to wholesale and supermarket operators selling illegally imported sugar following the arrest of two Chinese businessmen here.

The cops say they will be inspecting establishments for contaminated sugar and will be prosecuting those found in breach.

Sergeant Desroy Holness, sub-officer in charge of the Area Three Agricultural Protection Branch (APB), said the businessmen were charged with breaches of the Sugar Control Act after they were found selling Guyanese sugar labelled ‘Demerara’ without a permit.

“I am sending a strong message, along with members of the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA), that we believe that there are several other businesses out there who are selling this brand of brown sugar. When you are caught you will be prosecuted. This operation will be an ongoing operation by the APB and the Sugar Industry Authority,” Holness told journalists.

He explained that the police along with the SIA visited a wholesale and supermarket in Luana where the brown sugar was seen for sale.

“On entering, checks were made…and 10 packages of brown sugar [were seen]. The owners of the establishment were informed by the Sugar Industry Authority that no permit has been granted for such importation or sale of this brown sugar,” said Holness.

Friday’s operation followed a promise by the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) to intensify monitoring of sugar quality to protect public health, following the confirmation of metal fragments in samples of brown sugar produced by Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited last week.

The NCRA also advised the public that there is an immediate nationwide recall of the products produced by Pan-Caribbean Sugar Company Limited after a consumer posted a video to social media platform TikTok showing what appeared to be signs of metal contamination in his purchase.

NCRA said it “is actively monitoring the situation concerning the quality and safety of sugar manufactured locally and currently in circulation within the domestic market”.

NCRA said it has significantly intensified its surveillance and enforcement activities across the supply chain of sugar, and measures include targeted inspections, increased sampling from retail outlets and distributors, and close coordination with accredited testing laboratories to facilitate comprehensive chemical and microbiological analyses.

“To date, multiple samples have been collected from across the island and submitted for analysis. While the NCRA awaits the final laboratory results, precautionary measures have been implemented in the interest of public safety. These include the detention of goods which do not meet established safety, labelling, and traceability requirements,” a statement from the NCRA read, in part.

Sergeant Desroy Holness, sub-officer in charge of the Area Three Agricultural Protection Branch, said two businessmen were charged with breaches of the Sugar Control Act.