R.P.G. launcher handed in to police

In the hands of the military it is an effective weapon against an advancing enemy target. But on the mean streets of Belize City and in the control of an already trigger happy underworld, a rocket propelled grenade is the equivalent of an atomic bomb. Today the police scored a small victory with the unusual recovery of an R.P.G. launcher. Police Press Officer G. Michael Reid says that while there is one less high-powered weapon to deal with, intelligence indicates that there may be more where this one came from.

G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer

“It gives you an idea of the type of weapon that is out there in the streets and the type of arsenal that is faced by police officers on a daily basis. Fortunately, we were able to get this one off the streets. It was done through a coordinated effort between the Ombudsman office and the C.I.U. office here at the police station. We are hoping that we can rid the streets of these dangerous weapons that poses a threat not only to police officers, but certainly regular citizens on the street.”

Patrick Jones

“This piece of equipment, not even the B.D.F. has it, how did it get here?”

G. Michael Reid

“Interesting, you know Patrick, many questions have been asked about how do many of the weapons get to Belize. We have neighbouring countries who have histories of conflict and serious military problems, we have a very porous border, there is not many times that people come through the check points. Actually, they can swim across the river at any given point and certainly they don’t even have to use the highway, but there are many, many ways of getting weapons into the country.”

Based on information they have received, police believe that there are two more grenade launchers still in the hands of criminals and are appealing to the owners of these weapons to turn them in to the police.