Former Belmopan political hopeful Moises Cal and his millions made headlines in mid-February - but tonight there are details of two more money mules busted between Belize and Panama.
There are no officially confirmed details, but from what we have been able to piece together, 6 Guatemalans left the Phillip Goldson International Airport en route to Panama at 5:20 pm yesterday.
But there is no direct flight to Panama, and passengers headed there must switch planes at the Comalapa Airport in San Salvador city. And that's where two of the Guatemalans, reportedly Leon Ricardo and Roberto Cabrera were stopped by airport security and found with a large sum of money - reportedly more than a million U.S. dollars, stuffed in their personal luggage.
The men they were reportedly traveling with, Higinio Lopez, Christino Cortez, Lucio Torres and Wilfredo Orranta, all four, reportedly Guatemalan were not detained and made the connection to Panama.
We have been unable to get details from Salvadoran authorities, but so far, the most interesting detail is that Cabrera, though he is believed to be a Guatemalan, has reportedly given a Belmopan address as his residence.
And so if they were traveling with so much money, why wasn't it intercepted by Belize's airport security? Operations Manager Enrique Hoare says that they do not screen for money or paper and if someone has a suitcase full of money it wouldn't show up on their x ray as anything more than paper. Hoare also adds that they may not have left Belize with money, and could have picked it up in the in-transit lounge in Salvador.
Whatever the case, it bears heavy scrutiny - particularly in context of the Cal bust and we hope to have some official details and deeper insight tomorrow.
