Millions of Dollars in Cocaine Goes Up in Smoke

Tests confirm that more than one thousand two hundred twenty-six pounds of cocaine were inside bales discharged from a CESSNA aircraft on September ninth. Today, a convoy of heavily armed police transported the drug to a site in Georgeville, Cayo, for its destruction. On arrival, the parcels of cocaine were removed from the transporting vehicle and set on fire as smoke billowed.  The operation lasted a little over two hours and was witnessed by a number of persons from the Forensics Unit, Scenes of Crime, the Gang Suppression Unit, the Belize Defence Force and other elements of the police.  News’s Five Isani Cayetano was also present for the destruction and has the following report.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Up in smoke, all twenty-six bales of cocaine were destroyed by fire in the Cayo District this afternoon.  Information of the operation was closely guarded until the media received word that a convoy of vehicles was making its way along the George Price Highway.  Escorted by heavily armed law enforcement officers, including elements of the Gang Suppression Unit and operators from the Belize Special Assignments Group, the precious cargo, with an approximate street value of seven million U.S. dollars, was taken to a location in Georgeville.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Acting ComPol

“As you would have recalled when we had the press conference following the interception of the aircraft with its content, we had said at that press conference that we will be doing our best endeavor to ensure that the ten suspected cocaine would be destroyed within a reasonable time, because having it in our custody does pose some threat from those persons who were involved in its trafficking.  One of the process of doing the destruction was that we had to get confirmation from the lab that the content of those parcels was indeed cocaine and that confirmation was obtained yesterday and having obtained that, we filed at the Belize City Magistrate‘s Court an application for destruction this morning.  That application was granted and so we went into full action today, embarking on our mission to destroy the cocaine.”

Having confirmed that the substance was in fact powder cocaine, a team comprising of forensics personnel accompanied police to a site where each pack would be torched.  The detail of officers wasted no time in securing the perimeter, while a tractor brought in scrap lumber to fuel the blaze.  After cutting open each brick, officers would take turn tossing its content into the inferno.  Ordinarily, such an operation would take place at B.S.I.’s Tower Hill factory.

Chester Williams

“For us to have gone to Orange Walk to destroy, I don‘t think that would have been a wise idea and so we decided to do the destruction elsewhere, at a different location and that location was chosen for security reasons as well, as oppose to going to Orange Walk Town do the destruction.”

To avoid any doubt that what was being destroyed was indeed cocaine, the media, as well as other officials, was present for the bonfire.

Chester Williams

“We had elements of the Belize Defense Force, BSAG.  We had the Special Patrol Unit, GSU and MIT personnel.  So it was our paramilitary team who were involved in providing security for the destruction and I must say that you all were invited to be a part of the process to show transparency.  After all, you know Belizeans are always skeptical of things, so we wanted the media to be there to let the Belizean people know that we indeed destroy was cocaine so that there are no rumors or to dispel rumors that some may want to spread in some quarters.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.