Police will get confiscated Zabaneh vehicles

Acting with a patience that bordered on inaction, the Customs Department finally called it a day for Stann Creek businessman John Zabaneh–or at least his fleet of uncustomed vehicles. The ten late model SUV’s and pickups, seized at Zabaneh’s Mayan King farm in November, were forfeited when Zabaneh could not produce evidence of good title. According to a government release, the vehicles will be handed over to the Police Department to be used in the fight against crime. What the government release did not say is what, if any, criminal charges will be made against Zabaneh. The vehicles, imported by barge from Guatemala, are believed to have been stolen in that country and entered Belize without the benefit of the Customs Department. Shortly after the seizure, Zabaneh told News 5 that the whole affair was the result of a mix-up occasioned by the onset of Hurricane Iris.