Where is the Missing CitCo Heavy Equipment?

There are additional details coming out of an investigation into missing heavy equipment that are the property of the Belize City Council.  A bulldozer, as well as a flatbed trailer, has been recovered; however, other pieces of machinery are still unaccounted for.  Deputy Mayor Oscar Arnold provided an update on the items earlier today.

Oscar Arnold, Deputy Mayor, Belize City

Oscar Arnold

“At the mayor’s desk we’ve received a memo outlining an analysis of the ones that we got in.  In a state of disrepair, some of the repairs that were done on the bulldozer were just done roughshod, not done to any technical specifications.  We got it without any diesel, any oil, any fluids in there.  Everything was taken out, there was no battery.  So that is the update on the bulldozer.  We understand also that the other piece of equipment which is the Bobcat is being repaired somewhere in Unitedville.  We’ve received, since then a lot of residents calling in with pictures, videos of the Bobcat being used to clear land in Lord’s Bank, on the Western Highway, the George Price Highway and even up in Unitedville.  There’s an individual, I think the name Mike was called, up in that area who was in possession of part of the equipment so as far as that lead, we have our people following that up.  I was in the Cayo District yesterday on another matter but I also looked into it in a couple of instances, visited a couple of workshops and people know of the equipment but they can’t tell you exactly where it is now.  And interestingly, the investigation also shows that these equipment weren’t licensed since 2016.  So the first day the council got them, the license were processed, the plates were never put on them because the equipment were intercepted at the Works compound and taken off the compound.”

Isani Cayetano

“So, armed with the results of this investigation, what does City Hall do next?”

Oscar Arnold

“Very good question.  Like I said, we’re looking at our options.  We’re looking at whether there will be legal or criminal recovery of anything.  It’s hard because an original police report was not done at the time of the people who had knowledge of what was happening.  What we’re finding out now is that there was a lot of people that were involved in this thing that knew that it was happening and just didn’t care.”