Tonight, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is awaiting the return of a 2019 Toyota Hilux that was stolen early this morning from the Western Regional Hospital compound. At around 1:30 during a rainstorm, a watchman detected it missing and that's when they activated that GPS tracker that is mounted on the vehicle. But, the car thieves came prepared and they were armed with a jamming device which blocks the GPS signal.
Fortunately, government's private contractor who tracks the vehicles was still able to use other methods to triangulate the approximate position. He zeroed in on the location a few hours after - and luckily it was still in Belize. The pickup was stashed in the bush about 5 miles into the Mountain Pine Ridge Road - likely where the thieves had stashed it with the plan to return later and take it across to Guatemala. So, it is now immobilized and secured, awaiting return to the Ministry.
What's interesting is that this same Toyota Hilux was stolen in April of last year. In that case it was recovered 50 miles from Flores, Peten when the GPS tracker was used to shut it down.
This time around, the thieves came prepared, with the jammer, a cloned key, and they also removed a steering wheel lock, and took it out of a shed. Notably, the jacking occurred right under a surveillance camera which saw the car thief take about 5 minutes to remove the steering wheel lock. From there he drove the pickup out of the parking bay, and through the back gate which he cut open.
In 2015, a brand new Toyota Hilux was successfully stolen from the Ministry of Health. That one went over to Guatemala and was never recovered.
Currently - according to government's Car Czar Ashton Longsworth - about 850 of government's 1200 vehicle fleet are equipped with GPS trackers and immobilization devices.
