The Police Department has been moving swiftly to draw the net in on a rogue pharmaceutical operation in the Data Pro Export Processing Zone.
Since we broke the story on Friday (Police investigate irregularities at Data Pro Park) one man has been arrested and police have been looking for two others. That's after police chemists found that Target Data Pro which manufactures prescription drugs in the zone and sells them over the internet was determined to be in violation of local drug laws specifically that they had imported a prohibited substance. But if this company sells its product over the Internet, what's the local link? Well Keith Swift has been looking and found some fairly specialized drugs available on the city streets. Here's his story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This small little pill with the playboy logo may look like a play pill or some sort of placebo but in fact this is the real thing - the recreational drug ecstasy and this pill came from the streets of Belize City where it is available.
Where did it come from? Authorities are investigating a business here in the Data Pro Export Processing Park where a company called Target Data Pro is in the cross hairs. This morning the company's 26 year old accountant Guillermo Pech Jr. was taken to court and charged for trafficking of 3,660 pills with the drug alprazolam which is the main ingredient in the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.
But he's just the local employee left holding the bag full of pills. Authorities are now after two American men who own this company and are believed to be running a profitable and high volume operation out of the EPZ Park. These men are now wanted for questioning by the police and one of them is known to be out of the country.
The Anti-Drug Unit has mounted a 24 hour watch on the building to make sure that no one leaves with anything because inside may be restricted drugs including this: a high grade version of Viagra which is also on Belize City's Streets. Its called sildenafil which is the active drug in Viagra and these pills are 100 milligrams each. That is the five times the normal dosage and on the streets these sell for as little as $20 each.
It's just the tip of the iceberg in an investigation that threatens to shake up the free wheeling largely unregulated EPZ community.
As we noted police are looking for the two American men who own Target Data Pro. The manager who is a Belizean is also believed to be out of the country and will also face questioning when he returns.