Two soldiers of the Belize Defence Force were picked up in a checkpoint search on Friday night with assorted weaponry and over 1,300 rounds of 5.56 ammunition.
The search was conducted on a Land Rover said to belong to the Belize Defence Force. There was no indication if the men were on or off duty.
They were subsequently detained.
At last report, both the police and BDF were conducting investigations into the incident.
BDF Commandant Dario Tapia was not immediately available for comment.
Reports to Amandala are that the men, identified as Sergeant Emerson Michael, 30, and Corporal Henry Williams, 29, have been charged with keeping ammunition without a gun license.
This morning the men appeared in #7 Magistrate’s Court, where they were denied bail and remanded until January 26. Their attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley, according to court reports, had argued that the men, as soldiers, were not subject to the new amendment to the Firearms Act this year mandating that no bail and an immediate remand to jail were the penalties for persons caught with unlicensed guns and ammunition.
However, he failed to convince Magistrate Ed Usher, and so the men will spend in Christmas in jail unless Bradley can acquire bail from the Supreme Court.