“Hands on” minister and the unregistered boat owner at the airstrip
The owner of the boat that spent Saturday night into Sunday morning at the Municipal Airstrip in Belize City has come forward to explain what happened. That report made the news because the vessel was unregistered and the anti-drug unit showed up at the scene on Sunday morning. Damien Chamberlain has indicated that he owned the boat and that there was nothing ominous about his vessel being found at that location.
Jose Sanchez
“Why the boat wasn’t registered? It was an unusual spot for it to be. Why didn’t you report it to the police or to the people at the airstrip; for example that your boat is there?
Via Phone: Damien Chamberlain, Boat Owner
damien chamberlain
“It wasn’t registered because it was launched that same week; it hadn’t been registered as yet. In fact the boat was just completed at the boatyard. And the incident occurred around nine pm Saturday night. There was nobody to report it to. When I returned to the scene the following morning to take care of it, we found that the police was already there.”
Jose Sanchez
“The boat was found by the security at the airport, I also think the pilots saw it. People at the airport called and said ‘hey there is this boat out here please come and look at it.’ You could have spoken to the security at the airport also.”
Damien Chamberlain,
“Wait, are you going to tell me what I should have done or you want to know what happened?”
Jose Sanchez
“No, I said, ‘you could have.’ You said there was no one to report it to. It was at the airport. It is unusual to have an unregistered boat at the airport wouldn’t you say?”
Damien Chamberlain
“But the boat wasn’t at the airport.”
Jose Sanchez
“From the images we saw, it looks like it land right at the entrance to the landing strip.”
Damien Chamberlain
“No, the boat was not at the airport, it wasn’t close to the landing strip. It appears that way in your pictures. The boat was actually in the area behind S.J.C., Landivar—is where it was. Your pictures gave it the perspective like it was at the end of the runway. It was not.”
Jose Sanchez
“Ok. Now but the whole issue that has come up now is that the minister has become involved in an issue that was an investigation. Since as you said there was no one to report it to, not even the police.”
Damien Chamberlain
“Why don’t you give me your email address? Let me email this to you and then you can call me afterwards if you need to. What’s your email address?”
Jose Sanchez
“I’ll give it to you right now, but before I get to the email address. I mean, the minister got involved in the situation.”
Damien Chamberlain
“Give me your email address. The minister was on board. He wasn’t involved. He was on board.”
Jose Sanchez
“At night, but then he was also there during the following day, wasn’t he?”
Damien Chamberlain
“Yes he was.”
Jose Sanchez
“And did he not exchange words with the investigators?”
Damien Chamberlain
“He did not say a word to the investigator except to tell them that he was on board.”
Jose Sanchez
“But I’ve just received some information from high ranking members of the police department that the minister is meeting with those officers today.”
Damien Chamberlain,
“That I know nothing about—not involved in that. I’m just a private citizen.”
Chamberlain told News Five that his boat was not at the end of the airstrip. In a emailed statement to the media, a copy we got today, he explained in his own words, “I feel it is important that I send you a statement regarding the events of Saturday night that led up to the boat being found at the foot of the runway on Sunday morning.” Chamberlain also said the vessel wasn’t registered because on his last visit to the Port Authority he was informed that boat inspections were no longer done at private residences.
Ha!, dah fool di talk but dah noh fool di listen!!!! If you notice, he still could’t explain why the boat was abandoned there in the first place. How could anyone prove that that was a newly built boat and wasn’t already registered or lisenced before?? Thats a lame excuse and i don’t believe it one bit. Tell us who that minister was!!!…tell us…..why is everyone so afraid to call the name of a minister??? They are covering up something much bigger than anyone of us would ever think. Why hasn’t the minister or the police come forward and say something??? None wants to come forward and clear up the issue since the spotlight is on them now. If the minister and police has nothing to hide then they should come forward and clear it up to public. I don’t want to hear from the alledged boat owner he petty and means nothing in this incident……we want to hear from the big fish…….lets see him explain himself out of this one….
Here once more we will find – “some animals are more equal than others.” Once more, how much corruption and lawlessness will be allowed? The Minister who is to ensure laws and policies are upheld is also part of those breaking them! Had it been any other person they would be charged for an unlicensed and unregistered boat out at sea! So what will come of this? How the hell can I even respect Min. Singh? That once more shows that the people in these positions are part of the problem and NOT THE SOLUTION!!! I feel so EMBARRASSED as a Belizean.
This whole incident seems to have come about because nobody is to openly criticize the Belize Police.
So mister Singh called the police on their sloppy appearance. It’s the truth!. The ” their guts sticking out ” comment, should have been taken as a starting point to correct one of the many issues that detracts from garnering the respect of the public. But no, these indisciplined children have launched an attack, that now exposes their pettiness, along with their “GUTS”.
Learn this, you unimaginative bunch of miscreants beating down the truth always backfires, but it is in reading books that you learn, or making the mistake yourself, the truth is there for free minds to decide.( the police knows the designs of the Colombian boat hulls, or they should by now )
Arrogant, slick & full of sh–. Why are we allowing people to come into our country & do what they want.
Minister Anonymous, don’t allow yourself to be played like this, whatever he paid, he’s making you seem cheap & like a puppet.
Damien is an idiot, and so he think we are all the same.
he was not being honest about the drug boat at least that part is clear as crystal.
i reallly dislike his disrespectfull way of talking looks like someone of a bad attitude no respect to the way he was questioned and the way he answers. shame on this guy mein. but this need to be investigated more shouldn’t be left like some mishap issue.
smells fishy to me still….
Belize is still being plundered by the bucaneers & privateers , only 21st century style .Wake up Belizeans !!!
Hmmm Minister of Police on board, nobody to report the incident to. doesn’t the Minister have the phone number of the police station or the compol or senior officers in his cell phone to whom a simple call could of been made! this is more than fishy, it stinks Chamberlain says it wasnt at the airport but in his email said “found at the foot of the runway” make up you mind was it there or not ..more than meets the eye here. but of course, no investigation no follow up, nothing.
Planes land and park in front of the boat. How could that be SJC? instead of singing the name of the minister, he just talk fool. why the minister? email… email no answer the question. just a regular citizen in an unmarked vessel at the tip of the airstrip at night, and can also get police minister involved to talk to the investigating officers. Just a regular citizen my back side.
even blind eye jonesey can see something wroin with this situation
Drugs people, drugs
don’t we have the technology yet to test a fiber boat for traces of any illegal drugs? or even a plane?
No wonder the crime situation in Belize keep escalating.The higher ups are the most corrupted Citizens in Belize.
The Lab was on the present GOB manifesto “no matter what”…
DRUG.. was it min “sing” or whatever his *** name is that was on the boat?? i am sure they are taking thier time to fabricate the story and ‘burro” will have some sort of explanation.. hopeless bzeans will be fooled again!!
i hope channel 5 keep on this story? just say one week from today and nothing has come up with the boat thingy and interview “sing”.. arent there suppose to be charges against the boat owner? if nothing comes out of this, can they give some of the drug money to poverty alleviation (not to the “boots” guy) but directly in the hands of the poor people?? let’s benefit from the drug lords, please!!!
I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!
A few years ago, this very Fitness Minister was supposedly involved in some previous passport scandal. Despite this dark cloud around his character, our PM gave him a $250,000 SUV, (paid for by taxpayers), and made him Minister of POLICE.
Now his name is being mentioned AGAIN, in some alleged ‘drug boat’. Why is it that this “poor naive minister” seems to gravitate towards shady deals and shady characters? And lets see what kind of “punishment” will he get this time from PM?