Benque Viejo police confiscated over five pounds of compressed cannabis which was abandoned by a drug smuggler who escaped from police officers when they tried to arrest him. The drug has been labeled “found property” and deposited at the Benque Viejo Police Station, after which it will be handed over for destruction.

Police said that at about 6:30 Sunday morning, they were on an anti-drug operation in Benque along the Mopan River, when they saw a man of Hispanic descent with a backpack crossing the Mopan River, from the Belize side, to go across to the Guatemala side.

When he saw the police coming, the man quickly took off the backpack and threw it away. He then jumped into the river and escaped to the Guatemala side.

Police retrieved the bag and found that it contained compressed cannabis, which was wrapped in five black plastic bags and in a small purple package. When weighed, the weed amounted to 5 ¼ lbs.