And moving by sea is how a contraband cargo from Guatemala came into Belize on Saturday night. And, tonight, two customs officers are facing criminal charges because of it. Seems they made a deal with an importer to open the Punta Gorda pier to allow the cargo in. The only problem is that pier is closed - by the order of their boss, the comptroller of customs. And the police are the ones who broke up that contraband operation. The Commissioner told us more today:
This is the very loaded cargo vessel spotted going to PG - presumably from Guatemala late on Saturday evening.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"On Saturday night, sometime after ten p.m., police got information of activities at the Punta Gorda customs pier. Based on that the police went to an adjacent pier and from there they saw a boat being unloaded. Police subsequently went over to the customs building and sought to get in but they were denied entry. Eventually, the customs officer on duty came to where the police officers were and the police asked the customs officer what was going on in the compound. The customs officer replied that it is a vessel that came in late due to mechanical problems."
But - the Commissioner says there's no way this vessel could have been legal:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"In order for a boat to come into the country of such nature there are several things that must be done; they must get the pre-clearance from Port Authority, pre-clearance from Customs and Immigration and there is a boarding team that normally goes on board which will be Customs, Immigration, Health, BAHA as the case may be and in this particular instance the only agent that was there was Customs. The other agents were absent. Which means that the activity that was taken place could not be lawful."
"I communicated with Mr. Griffith the comptroler of Customs and I brief him on what had transpired and right away he said 'Commissioner, Punta Gorda Port is closed,' so there is no way that anybody should bring in any cargo or anything through that port, because that port is closed."
But on Saturday night - the customs officers had that port opened for business - what kind of business is anyone's guess - but these cargo trucks had already been loaded up:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The two trucks that were supposed to remove the cargo from the Custom compound were in the compound still loaded with the goods and so I also directed them to take custody of the goods and the truck. We went through the investigation and we found out who is the imported of the cargo and the importer of the cargo have said to us that it was the officer in charge of the custom port in Punta Gorda that authorized him to bring the vessel to that port with a view to get the goods into Punta Gorda Town. So based on that I also directed that the port commander be detained, both customs officer will be charged for inciting the illegal entry of a vessel into the country and conspiracy to cause a vessel to enter the country illegally."
Jules Vasquez
"Were these customs officers providing this Saturday night service for a consideration?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I had ask the investigator to inquire from the importer as to whether or not he had paid for the services and based on what I am told the importer is saying no. So I don't know if there was some agreement that that would be the case, which I am almost sure that is and you would know that the importer himself even if it is so he is going to be reluctant to say so, because by saying so he commits an offence as well."
And while Commissioner Williams took major heat from customs last time for criminally charging a customs officer, now he's charged two and - he says their actions left him with no choice:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"This issue of us allowing people from across the borders to come into our country without following proper protocols put us at risk as well and so whenever we have these activities there is no going to be any reluctance on my part to enforce the law. It is my duty as the chief law enforcement officer to ensure the laws are enforced and I am happy that the comptroller of customs was more than willing to assist us with this investigation and most importantly he was very truthful, because he told us unequivocally that the port was closed."
The goods have been handed over to customs TO LEVY CHARGES FOR CONTRABAND WHICH THE commissioner of police hopes will also be brought against the customs officers.
As for the 7 men unloading the goods - all of them were charged for not wearing face masks, pending other charges.
