Trio of MS-13 Gang Members Remanded to Prison

A trio of men, reportedly belong to an offshoot of the MS-13 gang known as Normandie Locos Salvatrucha, was arrested and charged before being taken to court today to be arraigned for being members of a gang.  Thirty-five-year-old Hilberto Ruiz, a truck driver of Antelope Street Extension, his younger sibling, thirty-year-old Angel Antonio Ruiz, and twenty-year-old Abel Novel Martinez appeared unrepresented before a senior magistrate today where they were arraigned individually.  First to be arraigned was Hilberto Ruiz.  He was prepared to plead guilty to avoid wasting the courts time, but when he was told that the offense is punishable by up to ten years in prison, he pleaded no guilty instead. His younger brother was second to go before the lower court judge and he, too, entered a plea of not guilty. The third alleged member, Abel Martinez also pleaded not guilty.  The men were remanded to the Belize Central Prison until February thirteenth, 2023.  According to information from the Gang Intelligence, Investigation and Interdiction Unit, G.I.3., the men were being investigated since February of this year as active members of the N.L.S. which operates within the vicinity of Krooman Road and the George Price Highway.