Customs officer charged in illegal search

A customs officer from the Corozal district is in serious trouble tonight after he allegedly abused his authority on the job. According to court reports, forty-one year old Floyd Robinson was one in a team of officers that visited the home of Vidali Riveroll in Halls Layout to search for contraband. But when the officials knocked on her door, Riveroll demanded a search warrant and when the officers couldn’t produce one, she denied them entry. That’s when things got hairy because Riveroll says Robinson pulled out a handgun, put it to her chest and told her he would shoot her. The woman got frightened and allowed the officers to conduct their search but no uncustomed goods were found. But that wasn’t the end of the matter as Riveroll filed a complaint against Robinson. It took five months but a police investigation into the incident concluded on Wednesday with the customs officer being charged with one count of Aggravated Assault with a Firearm. Robinson appeared in Corozal Magistrates’ Court and has been remanded to Hattieville Prison until the sixth of May. According to police, while law enforcement officials are empowered to conduct warrantless searches on the suspicion that there are guns or drugs on the property, all other raids must be done on the strength of a warrant.