By Aaron Humes: Combined Belizean law enforcement authorities arrested four individuals and seized over 1,200 pounds of cocaine following the landing of a suspected drug aircraft in northern Belize on Friday evening. The airplane, believed to be a Cessna 206, arrived just after 6 p.m. and was tracked by local security forces in collaboration with regional partners.
The Belize Police Department on Monday confirmed that approximately 1,215.6 pounds of cocaine, hidden in 535 parcels and valued at about BZ$11.3 million, were recovered after the plane landed. Among the arrested are two Mexican nationals, identified as pilots of the aircraft. Police reported that two Belizeans, also detained during the operation, are considered persons of interest but have not been charged due to insufficient evidence.
The operation was coordinated by the Joint Intelligence Operation Centre (JIOC), which included the collaboration of police, the Belize Defense Force (BDF), the Coast Guard, and the Customs Department. According to Commissioner of Police Dr. Anthony Richard Rosado, the initiative began at approximately 10:36 a.m. when the United States Interagency Task Force South detected the unidentified aircraft over the Pacific Ocean near San Jose, Costa Rica.
The aircraft was subsequently classified as an air track of interest, leading to real-time monitoring by the Belize Joint Operations Center. Law enforcement officers were promptly deployed to key areas that were identified as potential landing sites.
By 1:50 p.m., per Commissioner Rosado: “…a Customs [Department] enforcement team operating in Neuland Village, Corozal District, encounter a SUV parked near the coastline. The vehicle was occupied by two Belizean nationals and one Mexican national. And inside the vehicle, officers discovered nine canisters of suspected aviation fuel, a firearm and a satellite phone. These were clear indicators that the Neuland village was the intended landing site of the aircraft. Over the next few hours, the aircraft moved northwards, changing direction multiple times towards El Salvador, then Nicaragua, and then Honduras. By 2.40 p.m., the aircraft was estimated to be just over one hour from entering Belize airspace. By this time, the operational focus had already been mobilized and strategically deployed in Neuland.”
Shortly after 5 p.m., airspace clearance was granted and air assets were deployed by the Belize Defence Force, joined by their counterparts from Mexico a few minutes later after permission was granted. At 5.21 p.m., Belize primary radar confirmed contact with the suspected aircraft approximately six nautical miles east of Carmelita Village, heading northeast. The plane landed around 6:14 in the evening and the pilots, Mexicans Paul Valenzuela Usana and Edgar Aguilar Trinidad were arrested and their cargo recovered, along with a Chevrolet suburban SUV occupied by two Belizean nationals.
Reports surfaced claiming that the vehicle containing the aviation fuel was set ablaze by police. However, Commissioner Rosado denied these allegations, stating the burning was not conducted by law enforcement but likely occurred after Customs officers withdrew from the scene due to unspecified circumstances.
“The important thing is that the vehicle was processed in terms of the fact that scenes of crime technicians would have processed it and retrieved items of evidential value. Photographs were taken and photo processing will be conducted. Indeed, it would have been ideal to have all of those items, but we are of the view that notwithstanding that the items in terms of the aviation fluid sorry was destroyed, it will not detract from us being able to put forward some evidential material in the intended prosecution,” ASP Stacy Smith noted during the press briefing.
The investigation remains ongoing as investigators continue to process the seized cocaine and gather more evidence against the suspects involved in this drug trafficking incident.
The post Four arrested in major cocaine seizure following plane landing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Aaron Humes: Combined Belizean law enforcement authorities arrested four individuals and seized over 1,200 pounds of cocaine following the landing of a suspected drug aircraft in northern Belize on Friday evening. The airplane, believed to be a Cessna 206, arrived just after 6 p.m. and was tracked by local security forces in collaboration with
The post Four arrested in major cocaine seizure following plane landing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
