Two Guatemalan Nationals Charged After Ammo Seized in Benque Viejo

Police and Customs officials have jointly charged two Guatemalan nationals after prohibited ammunition was found during an operation in Benque Viejo Town, Cayo District.  According to police, on Friday, January 9, t around 3:00 p.m., officers acting on received information intercepted a black Toyota Hilux in the town. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of an empty extended magazine and a loaded magazine containing fourteen live rounds of .40 caliber ammunition.  The occupants of the vehicle were identified as 50-year-old Nestor Amilcar Torres Galdamez and 30-year-old Romulo Eduardo Velasquez Galdamez, both Guatemalan nationals. The men were formally arrested and charged with the offense of Kept Prohibited Ammunition.  Police Commissioner Dr Richard Rosado confirmed this earlier today.

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police: “For what I was briefed I know that a joint Customs and police operation led to the detention of two Guatemalans that was in Hilux. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to two magazine and 14 rungs of ammunition. The two Guatemalan were subsequently charged for, kept prohibited ammunition.”

Police noted that the men claimed they had forgotten the magazine in the vehicle and produced a firearm license issued in Guatemala for a .40 caliber firearm. Authorities, however, emphasized that the ammunition was unlawfully brought into Belize.  The vehicle was handed over to Customs authorities, who are pursuing separate charges related to the failure to declare the vehicle at the port of entry.  Police also clarified that, contrary to claims circulating on social media, the two men are not investors. Investigators say they regularly purchase chicken in Belize for resale in Guatemala./