Belize: Orange Walk police officer under investigation over cocaine theft from station

Belize: A police officer from the Orange Walk Police Station is under internal investigation in connection with an allegation that he stole a large quantity of cocaine from the police station on January 26.

According to police reports, on January 18, the police officers of the Orange Walk Police Station conducted an operation in which they recovered an undisclosed amount of cocaine from an individual identified as Henry Abimael Mojic.

Following the discovery, the arresting officers seized the drugs and took that individual to the station, where he was charged with the illegal possession of drugs. The arresting officer then did not submit the seized cocaine to the station’s exhibit keepers as per the police rules and instead kept the drugs in his personal locker at the station.

However, on Friday, January 23, another police officer who was on duty that day in somehow got access to that locker and stole the drugs, which were reportedly contained in three separate envelopes in the arresting officer's locker.

But on January 26, between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., the officers at the station attempted to locate the seized drugs in the locker and discovered it was missing, responding to which the officers immediately watched the CCTV footage of the station.

During the review of the surveillance footage, officers discovered that an on duty police officer who was the diarist at the station stole the drugs from the locker, acting immediately the officers launched a probe and recovered the officer and drugs.

Since then the officers have been interrogated as the officers launched an internal investigation into the matter.

The Commissioner of Police Dr. Richard Rosado also confirmed the news while saying that “one officer is under the internal investigation and is cooperating fully with the interrogators and the department is investigating it deeply.”

He further said that “if ever again, any officers found guilty of breathing the regulations for their duty as the officers will face severe disciplinary actions, including criminal prosecution where applicable.”