COROZAL TOWN, Tues. Jan. 2, 2018– A 41-year-old man who allegedly attempted to smuggle 6,328 grams of cocaine from Belize into Mexico, was charged with drug trafficking when he appeared today in the Corozal Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Patricia Arana. He is Robert Gentle, a driver of Ranchito Village in the Corozal District. Gentle pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was denied bail and he was remanded unto custody until February 20, 2018.

At around 4 p.m. on December 13, a man driving a cream Lincoln Navigator car went to the northern section of the Custom Department’s cargo area at the Corozal-Mexico border. As he crossed the border into Mexico, the scanner detected that something was hidden in the dashboard of the car. The driver was stopped by Mexican authorities and he was told that his car would be searched. Upon hearing that, the driver made a U turn and drove back to the Belize side of the border, where he crashed into a metal post at the entrance to the gate. The driver then abandoned the car and fled into the bushes.

The police reported that when they searched the dashboard of the vehicle they found 6 parcels wrapped in transparent plastic, and inside the parcels was a white substance which they suspected was cocaine. When the parcels were weighed, the contents amounted to 6,328 grams.

At about 8:49 p.m. on December 31, the police, based on their investigations, went to Ranchito and detained Gentle and charged him. According to the police, the car was registered in the name of a resident of Belize City. Gentle was represented by Attorney Leslie Hamilton.