Police, post office investigate mail thefts

Over the last several months an increasing number of people have complained to News 5 that they had never received important mail that had been sent weeks or even months earlier, usually from the United States. The problem was sadly confirmed for us recently when a large U.S. dollar cheque sent to Channel 5 from Los Angeles was intercepted and later illegally forged and cashed at a bank in the Dominican Republic. Today we received evidence indicating that these occurrences may be just the tip of the iceberg, and that a serious system of organised theft may have become entrenched at the post office. Neither police nor postal officials would comment on their investigation, but a labourer for the Belize City Council today told News 5 that he personally found, on two separate instances, undelivered mail discarded on the street side, and that several of the envelopes contained U.S. money orders. He said that he personally delivered one to the addressee, who confirmed to News 5 that the letter she was expecting was also supposed to have some cash inside. Another person contacted by the worker was asked to come pick up her envelope, but instead it was retrieved this morning by police who, not surprisingly, will be asking the young man some probing questions. But however these mails were lifted from the post office, it is clear that security at the postal service is not what it should be…and these problems existed long before the Paslow fire.