Belize City Cop Busted for Drug Trafficking in Corozal

Andrew Ramirez

Corozal police busted one of their own on Friday evening when the officer attached to Eastern Division was caught along with two other men inside a vehicle stuffed with suspected marijuana. The arrest was made when the trio had just cleared a customs checkpoint near the northern border, but had begun experiencing mechanical difficulties. When they pulled over to the side of the road, Corporal Shaun Andrews reportedly popped the hood of the vehicle to check its engine, inadvertently exposing the parcels of cannabis.  The men were immediately detained and Corozal police were subsequently notified.  This morning, the men, including twenty-five-year-old Brandon Casey of Camalote Village and twenty-six-year-old Dwayne Zuniga, were arraigned in the Corozal magistrate’s court before being released on bail.  News Five spoke by phone with Superintendent Andrew Ramirez who says that the arrest of Corporal Andrews will also be dealt with internally by the police department.

Via Phone: Supt. Andrew Ramirez, O.C., Corozal Police Formation

“About 5:45 p.m. on Friday, November twenty-first, upon information received from customs personnel at the northern border here in Corozal, Corozal police visited a location where they met Shaun Andrews, a corporal of police attached to the Eastern Division in Belize City.  Also along with Shaun Andrews, they handed over two other individuals who have been identified as Brandon Casey, twenty-five-years of Camalote Village, Cayo District; twenty-six-year-old Dwayne Zuniga, a Belizean of Corozal and also a red Geo Prism car with license plates Corozal C-12717.  Also along with [that] they handed over two parcels of suspected cannabis.  As a result, myself and my station manager Woman Sergeant McLaughlin, we escorted all individuals to the Corozal Town Police Station where the drugs were weighed in their presence.  One of the parcels weighed in at five-hundred and thirty-six grams and the other [weighed in at] one thousand, thirty-four grams.  Their combined weight of one thousand, five hundred and seventy.  The initial information was that the vehicle was moving from north to south, passing through the customs checkpoint.  They  had given the clearance to pass, however, the vehicle began experiencing mechanical problems and as a result Corporal Andrews, who was the driver, apparently lifted up the bonnet which resulted in the discovery of the said suspected drugs.  I must say that the three individuals, upon being handed over to us, did not [resist arrest], they cooperated fully with us.  They did not retaliate, they cooperated fully.  The drug was weighed in their presence and they were subsequently arrested and charged jointly for the offence of drug trafficking.  This morning, the corporal and the two other individuals appeared before Magistrate Earl Hamilton in Corozal where they all pleaded not guilty to the offence of drug trafficking.  They were granted bail in the sum of three thousand dollars and scheduled to reappear on January thirtieth, 2015.  Also, as customary, the normal procedures when involving a police officer who is part of a disciplined organization, Corporal Andrews will also be placed on disciplinary charges for an offence that he had committed based on being a part of the police department.”