Up In Marijuana Smoke

All roads led west this morning as a convoy of police vehicles made its way to an undisclosed location where a huge haul of drugs was incinerated.  It’s part of a routine destruction process where a mass of seized narcotics is ferried to a remote area and done away with.  News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A quantity of narcotics, seized during numerous anti-drug operations in Belize City over the past eighteen months, was destroyed by fire earlier today at a scheduled destruction exercise.  Small bags containing different measures of compressed marijuana, pigtail buckets stuffed with larger quantities and even light travel bags packed with an assortment of grades, were all fed to a fierce inferno.  Thick smoke billowing from the large outdoor fire carried with it the aroma of high-grade ganja.  It’s a loss for any true smoker, but a bold reminder nonetheless that the drug is still not legal in Belize.

Ralph Moody

Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody, Region 2 Commander

“What we are doing is a routine drug destruction.  Within the department we have a system whereby we destroy drugs every six months within the department and that would include found property and cases that are concluded within the different courts within Belize City.”

Prior to incineration, each parcel is carefully inspected and a record of its particulars is taken down, before being tossed into the blaze of dried lumber.

Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody

“We have cannabis, we have crack and we also have some substance that was found with a person that is suspected to have some other chemical within it, drugs.  And as well, the person didn’t have any license to import it within the country.”

While the combined material value of the drugs has been withheld, Senior Superintendent Ralph Moody shared an aggregate based on the length of time it took to stockpile this quantity.

Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody

“This drugs at this present moment, we’re looking at is at least a year, year and a half’s amount of drugs that we have here.  What happens is that the process takes us a bit of time to really get it done, but I could guarantee you that within the next six months we’ll be doing another drug destruction.  What happened is, of recent we have been finding a large amount of cannabis within Belize City so it created some discomfort within the exhibit room in Belize City, so we need to do drug destructions regularly.”

So what is the delay being attributed to?

Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody

“Within the system it should be done every six months, every six months, but due to the fact that we have hold back with the processing of documents, that’s the reason why we have some sort of delay.”

Reporter

“Sir, there is always some level of healthy skepticism when it comes to the destruction of drugs.  How do you all preserve the integrity of this process?”

Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody

“Well as you see, we have people from the court that represent, we have a Justice of the Peace, we have a forensic, we have the exhibit keeper.  We have the person who is in charge of the Prosecution Branch and as well myself, who is overall in charge of the exhibit room and Region Two.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.