Another cargo truck has been jacked on the highway and because of what it was carrying, tonight there is a cloud of suspicion hanging over the Customs Department. Around noon yesterday, a driver was heading west to Melchor with a cargo of pharmaceutical products, reportedly over one hundred boxes of cough medicine. The shipment had arrived in Belize some days ago via air freight and was lawfully cleared yesterday morning from the Taca warehouse.
Around noon, police got a call that the cargo truck was being jacked in the vicinity of Cotton Tree Village at mile 43 – other reports pointed to the Beaver Dam Bridge, a few miles east. Police responded but found nothing and 5 hours later, a formal report was made. The driver Minor Castellanos has reportedly told police that he was held up on the road by gunmen who took his truck. Police are tight lipped about the report and would not release any details.
But the fact is that tonight, 30 hours later, the truck, and most importantly, the cargo are still not accounted for. And that’s where the intrigue gets thick. Cough medicines like Sudafed contain the drug pseudo-ephedrine. They are known to be used as what are called precursor drugs in the production of methamphetamines, known as crystal meth.
And while that is not an illicit drug known to be used in Belize, the highly addictive substance is much used in the United States, and it is known to be manufactured for that market in Mexico and Guatemala. Mexico banned it in January, and since then imports of the drug to Belize have shot up, far beyond what can be consumed locally – leading officials to conclude that these imports are being smuggled into Mexico, possibly through the Free Zone.
And that’s why last month, in consultation with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, the Ministry of Economic Development signed a statutory instrument making the importation of psuedo-ephedrine illegal. It’s the law and the customs department was made aware of that. Further reports tell us that they were even warned about this particular shipment, which came after the law was passed.
But still, somehow the container was lawfully cleared from Customs yesterday and sent off to Guatemala by road. And obviously when it was cleared eyes were on it, which is why it was jacked. Now that hints at the possibility of criminal collusion and that is a very serious charge. We were unable to get Comptroller of Customs Gregory Gibson to comment on the implications today.
We’ll keep following the story and have more details tomorrow.
