BUENA VISTA, Corozal District,Thurs. June 3, 2021– On Thursday, June 3, the Police Department’s Mobile Interdiction Team (MIT) and Belize Defence Force (BDF) intercepted a black Mitsubishi Endeavor at a checkpoint near Buena Vista Village in the Corozal District . A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 320 pounds of bass fillet fish, 46 pounds of salmon fillet, and 317 pounds of jumbo shrimp. The occupants of the vehicle — Coast Guard officer, 28-year-old Daniel Ack and his common law wife 27-year-old Jamie-lee Cruz — were not able to provide documentation for the seafood, and as a result, they were apprehended.

The duo and the seafood were then handed over to the Immigration and Customs Department, and Ack and Cruz are to be criminally charged for the possession of uncustomed goods. The nearly 700 pounds of fish is estimated to have a value of $30,000. The Fisheries Department will further investigate the incident. There is public speculation that the fish may have been smuggled through the Coast Guard base in Consejo.

Notably, Ack was accused in 2018 of allegedly stealing engines worth $14,000 and had been charged with theft.