Last week, we told you about the Venezuelans that were caught near mile 18 on the Philip Goldson Highway. Well, today, another human smuggling operation was intercepted. Around 6:30am, the police caught 12 men and women - from another South American country hiding in the bushes off a farm road in San Antonio Village in the Orange Walk District.
According to reports, they were in a vehicle and the driver dropped them off in the bushes before driving off. The officers were following the vehicle and that's how they discovered the group - who are all Ecuadorians.
They were asked to present immigration documents, which they could not produce, and were then detained. Police later found Ecuadorian passports with no Belize VISA and identification cards on them. They were then issued with an acknowledgement form, which they signed, before Immigration officers came in to take over the matter. Immigration is holding them pending charges.
The vehicle was also intercepted but it is unclear if the Immigration department has laid charges on the driver.
