When it comes to the scrutiny that's been put on the Portico Enterprise, most of the attention has been focused on David Gegg. But his background partner in that enterprise is Corozal Free Zone businessman Gulab Sharma - who - according to company documents of two years ago - had the same number of shares in Portico as Gegg.
But Sharma also has other companies and one of them got into big trouble with customs earlier this year. Tonight, confirmation has emerged of a story we first heard about in April - and it's in the form of one of those many Portico attack ads you've been seeing on the news since May.
Reports at that time said that Sharma's company Yash Int'l had imported a container full of counterfeit Air Jordan tennis shoes into the free zone. These were discovered, confiscated, and destroyed by customs. Sources tell us there were two importers; and Sharma's company, Yash was one of them. The total shipment - comprising two containers to two companies is said to have been valued at over half a million dollars.
At the time, it was not publicized because the taint would have affected business in the already struggling Free Zone. But, it seems to have been ventilated now in the ongoing war over the Port of Magical Belize.
