An immigration sweep in Caye Caulker nabs 10 persons

While Castellanos and Gonzalez have both pleaded guilty to immigration offenses, there is a report from Caye Caulker that Immigration Officials have rounded up at least ten persons for fake nationality documents. In a sweep of the island on Tuesday, immigration personnel rounded up a group of persons who were in possession of the fraudulent Belizean documents. Police confirmed late this evening that there are currently six men and four women in detention. Now, according to reports, these persons, who have been living on the island for some time now, paid thousands of dollars to a woman in exchange for the documents. A Caye Caulker resident, who wishes remain anonymous, told News Five about the crackdown.

Via Phone: Concerned Caye Caulker Resident

“My concern is that it looks like Immigration is coming here to this island, Caye Caulker, picking up some people with false nationality. The thing is that I think there was a big scam. There was a lady that used to come to Caye Caulker and say that all the illegal people, she could actually help them in taking out their nationality and stuff like that. And what she used to do was ask people for money and two week’s time give them a false nationality. And it looks like several persons get caught up in it. Several people thought they could have gotten help, and she used to give them false nationalities and now they have people locked up. Immigration came to Caye Caulker and came and looked for the people. I don’t really have confirmed numbers, but they have at least ten persons in San Pedro in jail locked up for that. And I hear that they are here as well today looking for the other persons.  They are looking for the people and they are like coming into the houses and kinda invading them and stuff like that and taking them out like criminals.”

Duane Moody

“Now these are all adults or are kids included?”

Via Phone: Concerned Caye Caulker Resident

“Kids, I know that there is a kid that is probably about fourteen years. That’s probably the youngest one.”

Duane Moody

“Now you said that you are concerned. These persons were living on the island for a long while or it is just recently that they’ve moved there?”

Via Phone: Concerned Caye Caulker Resident

“Some of them were. I know for a fact that some of them were. I don’t really know about the others, but the ones I know were living here for some time now.  To me it is unfair. People thought they were gonna get help. I heard that they used to pay between one thousand to two thousand per nationality.”