Four Guatemala men who were captured illegally mining for gold in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve in the Cayo District were remanded to the Belize Central Prison today, until they pay a fine of $1,005 each, and if they cannot pay, they will remain in the Belize Central Prison for 6 months, after which they will be sent back to their country.

The men were charged with illegal entry into Belize, and they were taken before Magistrate Narda Morgan at the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, and prosecuted by officers of the Immigration Department.

The four men were captured by a BDF-police composite patrol in Chiquibul Saturday morning while the unit was patrolling the area.

The four men are Marconi Gonzalo; Rubén Ack Tec, 30; Jenner Saquir Chavez, 25; and Joseph Caal, 48.

According to the Guatemala newspaper, the Prensa Libre, the four men are all farmers of the Mount Olivet area in Petén.

So far, the four men have been unable to pay the fine, and they remain in prison.