16 year old arraigned for 18 pounds of marijuana

In news from the West, a sixteen-year-old male has been remanded to the Hattieville Prison following a major drug bust early this morning. Just after ten a.m. in Santa Elena, a police patrol came up on the youth, who fled from the scene as they approached. Inside the football field, a brown crocus bag was found with suspected marijuana. A search of the area by the officers led to the minor’s detention. The minor and the sack were taken into the station where the bag was weighed…a whopping eighteen pounds of suspected cannabis. The minor was charged for Drug Trafficking and arraigned in Magistrate’s Court this afternoon. Deputy Officer Commanding San Ignacio Police Formation, Inspector Reymundo Reyes spoke on the arrest saying that the minor is believed to be working for a drug peddler in the area.

Via Phone: Insp. Reymundo Reyes, Deputy O.C., San Ignacio Police

Reymundo Reyes

“Officers from the Tourism Policing Unit were on motorcycle patrol in the area of Santa Elena on Bradley Street when their attention was drawn to a male person who was inside the stadium, but beside him he had a brown in color crocus bag. And upon seeing the police, he immediately moved from the area, so the police went inside the stadium, made checks as to the contents of the sack and revealed to contain green leafy substance suspected to be cannabis. About two hundred feet from where the sack was, checks were made in the area where the said male person was found lying on the ground and he was escorted to where the sack was and as a result taken to the police station. Police found out that he is a minor, a sixteen year old and as a result, his mother was informed and in their presence, the alleged drugs was weighed and amounted to eighteen pounds of cannabis. The minor was arrested and charged for the offense of drug trafficking. He was arraigned at the San Ignacio Town Magistrate Court where he pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded until the nineteenth of August 2014. We know that because of the rainy season, people from across the border will be trying to get rid of their crop…you know at a cheaper price, the pound of cannabis may be sold and that is the reason why we do have that in transit amount of drugs coming through the Benque Viejo area into our area and maybe heading sometimes to Belize City, Belmopan and other districts.”

Duane Moody

“Now this minor, is it believed that he was waiting for someone to come and pick up this crocus bag filled with suspected cannabis?”

Via Phone: Insp. Reymundo Reyes

“The product we believe is for somebody from the nearby area, who we know to be a drug peddler.”