In our first segment you heard all angles of the latest narco plane bust and subsequent arrests. But, there is another dimension to also look at. The Belize National Coast Guard now classifies the Belize Police Department as a drug trafficking organisation - according to reports. That has led the Coast Guard to recently tell the police that they can no longer board coast guard vessels or engage in joint operations.
That's remarkable and the police commissioner today said that he met with the Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Elton Bennett to iron things out and return to normalcy. We discussed with with him today:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We arrived at an amicable resolution to the issue. It cannot be that there is going to be no working relationship between the police and the coast guard."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"I heard that they had instituted that though."
Chester Williams
"Yes, we are members of this country's security apparatus and it is imperative that we work together. And so, yes, Mr. Bennett, as he has said publicly that he had given an administrative instruction for his people not to work with the police, I do not believe that that is in the purview of Mr. Bennett as the commander of coast guard. And so we discussed that yesterday and we agreed that moving forward that we're going to work together."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"I don't think coast guard hires from heaven, they are all hiring from earth and the communities thereon. We have seen BDF officers charged, we have seen police officers charged. Isn't it a preposterous position to take to say well I am holier than thou, it had to annoy you all."
Chester Williams
"Of course, it was annoying and that's the reason why I had ask that we meet and discuss the matter. I believe that as heads of two of the very important security forces, we needed to dialogue and see how we could resolve the issue and I was happy that he came to the table and we were able to resolve the matter."
