Robbers on Hummingbird Highway

Over a year ago the largest armed robbery in Belize’s history took place just three miles outside of Belmopan. A BDF soldier was killed and dozens of citizens held at gunpoint and robbed by at least eight men in fatigues who jumped the border to Guatemala. Two citrus workers were arrested, but later released. This past weekend, residents along the Hummingbird highway thought they were in for it again when armed robbers emerged from the jungle. Godsman Ellis, a Belizean businessman, who happened to have been in the hold-up last year, was on his way from Dangriga to Belmopan Saturday evening around six o’clock. He says that as he approached the Hershey factory he saw about eight parked cars and several masked men wearing army fatigues and carrying guns. He reversed his vehicle and managed to get to a nearby farm and asked the family to alert police to the situation. Belmopan police said they would dispatch a patrol to the area. The supervisor and five members of the Dragon Unit drove to the scene in a police pick-up truck but didn’t see anything unusual. With nightfall approaching and bad weather they returned to the station. Ellis has since gone to the United States and so far police say only one official report has been made one Miguel Cruz and his traveling companion Alvaro Bah. Cruz told police a dark complexioned man wearing army fatigues and holding a rifle, motioned for him to stop. He says two other men, both carrying pump action shotguns, approached. He reversed his vehicle and the men ran towards him but no shots were fired. Cruz stopped about a quarter mile away where he says he waited for about fifteen minutes, until several vehicles had joined him and they formed a convoy to pass the area. The men in fatigues were gone. People living on the highway remember seeing the vehicles reverse and heard what they believe to be a gunshot. Unconfirmed reports are that one of the members of the convoy fired a single shot into the air to make the gunmen aware that he was armed. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Allan Usher said he had not yet read the report and could not comment at this time. Although Saturday’s incident did not result in any injuries and seemed to witnesses to be a disorganized effort, the question remains: a year and two months after the May 2nd Hummingbird Highway robbery, is Belize any more prepared? While San Ignacio and Dangriga police report that they set up roadblocks, residents of Belmopan say when they entered the Belmopan Police Station, the Police Command Center for the country, there was one officer in the entire station. News Five has learned that there were five officers on that shift, however, one was at the Prime Minister’s residence and another at the Governor General’s residence. This would leave one desk officer, a supervisor and another officer in the station. But where were the other two? According to police sources, the police in the nation’s capital only have access to one vehicle, making quick response to calls a problem, this despite the fact that new vehicles for the department were added just last week.