Last night we told you about the temporary permit that the Customs Department issued for a bulletproof vehicle in the Free Zone. That means it came in duty free - and it raises questions about who qualifies for this and about the state of crime in the north, when prominent Free Zone figures have to use bulletproof vehicles.
But, speaking today at the airport, the Prime Minister had a more positive spin - he said that bullet proof vehicles aren't illegal in Belize. And while he is the Minister of Finance in charge of customs - he said we'd have to ask them!:
Courtney Menzies:
"Sir what do you think of the bulletproof vehicle that was found in the freezone and is this an indication of the risk level in that area?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well I don't know if you could look at it from that end about the risk but yes I think Mr Vela, that's his name? I think they tried to shoot him I think in September and probably he wants to protect himself, maybe just a precaution as far as I can tell."
Courtney Menzies:
"But is this a normal thing that's usually approved by Customs, a bulletproof vehicle?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well I think you need to speak with the Customs Department and the Attorney General's office. But I will just tell you this part and I don't want to get into a back and forth, from what I'm told, there is no law that prevents anyone from bringing in a bulletproof vehicle. There are several, as I'm told, there are several organizations, businesses that have these vehicles to protect themselves like in the banks for instance and there have been no issues."
Courtney Menzies:
"Having combined Home Affairs with Enterprise, is there any instructions you've given to the new minister to try and quell what's happening in that area?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well, that's the very reason why we put Enterprise with the police so that we hope that the police can play a more active role at the zone to be able to ensure that we can have peace and stability in the zone. The Corozal Freezone, it is a very important area that creates a lot of employment, they employ about 1,500 Belizeans and for us it's important to be able to protect them and that everybody could feel safe. I don't think we're there that people don't feel safe but I think we should take that extra precaution."
We stress that - based on what the commissioner and the officer in charge of the customs station in the north told us that they did not authorize the temporary permit, yet it says they did - that "TP" remains very irregular.
