“I neva know” defense works in Cuthkelvin container case
Six containers loaded with a precursor to methamphetamine have been sitting at the Customs Department compound since March. The value of the chemical methylamine hydrochloride has been placed in the range of ten billion dollars. Tonight there is information that the department will not be pressing any charges against Vernon Cuthkelvin who was named as the importer of the substance which is used to manufacture meth, a highly addictive substance that has huge markets in the US. Cuthkelvin claims he did not order what has been found in the containers and as such the department will not be proceeding with legal action against him. The chemical, we are told, will be destroyed in the coming days. Cuthkelvin’s attorney, Lionel Welch, says that there was nothing further on the issue from his side. It is an important decision that may have very serious consequences, if an importer of illicit substances can simply use the excuse “I neva know” to avoid punitive damages or prison time.
How much money passed under the table to get that decision, and to whom?
Any competent police or prosecutor should have been able to work the case and find other people involved, and then SQUEEZE until someone squealed on the others.
But if, as the evidence suggests, Cuthkelvin has cartel or Chinese partners, they will express their displeasure that he bungled his part of the operation, at a loss of BILLIONS of their drug dollars. I’ve heard they can be pretty unpleasant partners at times like this! He’s better disappear, and keep his head on tight.
Another humiliating moment for the nation of Belize. My gushhhhhhhhhhhh. Come on Belizean people. Nuh mek dis guh suh!! This is Bull…
Small time drug user get jail time,big time dealer gets a pass..something weele wong here ..
The crooks are smarter than the government. Do you really believe he did not know what was coming to him in those containers, chu mein. Melvin will owe somebody some money for the merchandise they did not receive. He just may be found missing or worse gone home to his maker over loosing that much money for the person he was fronting for. RIP dude.
He should go to jail for years.
BIG TIME UDP, will neva get charge!!!!! who was he working for??? come on police follow the money. Cutkelvin bruk, bruk, bruk, he can’t import four containers. who is he working for????he is a well known UDP operative so who is he working for???
and yet people just went to jail last week because of Weed.. WEED!!!!
Remember this guy is good friend with borrow (pm) . imagine the possibilities.
so again go vote for your fav minister.
But i guarantee u all that, all that stuff wont be destroyed, O no!! its too valuable, more dan hald a dat musy done change to some other stuff. and lone big high ranking officers know bout it. We are living in a corrupted country people and its not democracy anymore but men abusing thier power doing us what they want.
LET THEM AIR ON TV THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DRUGS FOR ALL TO WITNESS!!…How have we failed so terribly as a society that one man goes to jail for 1 oz. of cannabis and others walk free???? VOTE UDP!!
Belize is turning into A PIMPERS PARADISE.
I had the feeling he’ll walk free as usual in Belize norms pety weed users spend more time in jail than big drug dealers that walk free with an apology behind them from the gov. do tihs wow you my Belizean people?
ten BILLION dollars ???
and the smart government want to destroy it ?
how and where ?
I’m pretty sure they would only cause a serious enviromental impact or at least, smart as they are, a big explosion…
throw it into the sea ???
they should sell it, dammit, it is $$$$$ MONEY
if its worth only half of the estimated value it would be still around 15.000,- BZE for each belizean !
btw: it is still only a chemical, not a drug !
so there are plenty of ways to use that material…
good lord, if u r there, please enlighten the GOB to sell it and use the money for education, the poor, building roads, pay back money they owe to other countries and the fight against the gangs, please, please, please
Hire the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to destroy the stuff, and test it first to make sure it is still what was imported.
My bet is the real contraband has already been delivered into Mexico — with the obvious cooperation of whoever in GOB is supposed to be safeguarding it — and it has been replaced with some cheap look-alike substance for show. No court case, no test, no evidence, proof all gone!
Like cremating a murder victim before cause of death can be determined.
!
The Belizean people need the government to make further investigation on this serious matter, but I am sure that the PM will not cooperate with this… Poor guys that have been put in prison for a few grams of mariguana! The big dealers who try to smuggle CONTAINERS of illicit drugs are free! It’s a pitty!!!! VOTE UDP!!!
Ok, so he neva know what was in the container? It does not matter. Thats beside the point. He ordered 10 billion dollars worth of something. The Central Bank and Ministry of Finance must have a trace on that money order. If the country is in recession, how can a citizen be involved in a transaction of such magnitude.
Jail his @$$ anyway and let him prove to a judge he did not know. what bad precident. And where is his Garden? and why so much? presuming he thought it was legit $#!%. Has he answered those queries?
I have to agree with Charlie Price..Belize is becoming a Pimpers Paradise…pple are easily bought n sold in dis corrupt country….i feel the frustration in all the comments stated above….i for one knew nothing wud come of this case…an so said so done…the guy is gonna walk free as is usually the case. The laws here are only there to serve a selected few…there is no justice here…someone high up got paid off…either that or some form of politica pull stings…no surprise there..
Police noh wah yer ” I neva kno” wen deh come raid yo house an find wah unlicensed gun or drugs or something illegal…deh wah ker yo and yo wah still get charged even tho u might honestly dont kno how it got there or who its for…why shud the police and the law treat this guy any different?? i say charge him jus like the would any other person..he well knew what he was importing and what it was going to be used for…he was set to make big money off this shipment…now he got caught…i guess he was doing this for some time now until someone got suspicious or someone spilled the beans because he didnt get his cut…its not impossible…