Christmas is coming - and, for the north, that means contraband season - which is why the customs department offices in Orange Walk and Corozal had to clear their warehouses today.
They destroyed 1,400 cases of beer and 1775 cans or bottles of beer, along with a bunch of other confiscated items today in Orange Walk. CTV-3 spoke to a customs officer about the process:
Ethan Neal. Customs Officer
"Basically this is a joint destruction between the Corozal Unit and Orange Walk Enforcement Unit. We normally do this around this time of year to get ready for the new year we need space in our storage, so we are just destroying goods that are ready for destruction."
"Today we have an estimated value of $256,000 worth of goods tht we are destroying, most beers, soft drinks, rums and stuff of that nature. On a day to day basis we do patrols and operations in illegal landing areas, known areas like Botes, San Victor, Ramonal and other villages along the way that are known for these illegal crossings. This amount of goods we have here is actually a small fraction that actually comes in throughout the year, so it's a big effect on our economy and this is just a scratch on the surface for what is really happening."
Customs has to regularly destroy contraband seizures.
