Posted: Monday, October 27, 2025. 7:14 pm CST.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 53-year-old Salvadoran national residing in Belize has been convicted of drug possession after admitting to having a small quantity of crack cocaine.
The accused, Jose Aurecio Cortez, a watchman from Bullet Tree Falls, Cayo District, appeared unrepresented before a Senior Magistrate in Court #6 last week, where he was charged with possession of a controlled drug.
According to police, around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, 2025, officers from Alpha 3 Mobile Patrol were on Baghdad Street in Belize City when they observed Cortez acting suspiciously. During a search, an officer reportedly saw him attempt to discard two small “buffy-like” substances from his hand. The items were retrieved and later confirmed to be 0.14 grams of crack cocaine.
In court, Cortez pleaded guilty immediately, telling the magistrate that he had already thrown the drugs away when he saw the police, but admitted he knew it was crack cocaine.
The Senior Magistrate began with a base fine of $600, adding $50 for the type of drug involved, bringing the total to $650. Cortez received a $100 deduction for having no previous drug convictions, and a further one-third reduction ($185) for his early guilty plea, resulting in a final fine of $365 plus $5 cost of court.
Cortez was given until November 28, 2025, to pay the fine or face two months in prison in default.
This marks Cortez’s first conviction for a drug-related offense in Belize.
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The post Salvadoran watchman fined $370 for small amount of crack appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Monday, October 27, 2025. 7:14 pm CST. By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 53-year-old Salvadoran national residing in Belize has been convicted of drug possession
The post Salvadoran watchman fined $370 for small amount of crack appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
