Photo: Francis Gegg, arrested
The drugs were stashed under the false bottom of a bag reportedly being carried by Francis Gegg, 70, official leaked documents suggest.
NEW DELHI, India, Mon. Nov. 7, 2022
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unable to verify reports of the arrest of prominent Belizean, Francis Gegg, 70, in New Delhi, India. Gegg was reportedly found with 9.95 kilograms of suspected heroin at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on October 30, 2022. The substance was seized, and he was arrested and charged, according to a piece of correspondence sent from the airport officials to the High Commissioner at the Embassy of Belize in India.
Some outlets have reportedly received confirmation from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the report, but the ministry was unable to provide any update to Amandala when we reached out to them.
Gegg, a prominent Belizean businessman who was once a leader of the We the People Reform Movement, a minor political party formed in 2003, reportedly started his journey in Johannesburg, South Africa, and took a connecting flight in Doha, Qatar, before arriving in New Delhi. The suspected heroin, described as an “off-white powdery substance,” was found in his possession and recovered by airport authorities in India.
The Joint Commissioner of Customs at the IGI airport requested that the authenticity of Gegg’s passport be verified and that his family be informed of his arrest as soon as possible. As mentioned, there is no indication whether authorities in Belize have reached out to the family of Gegg, since the Foreign Affairs Ministry was unable to verify reports of Gegg’s arrest and did not provide any additional information to us.
The heroin, totaling about 22 pounds in weight, is worth at least 16 million Belize dollars, some reports say.