Martin Rafael Machado Urias, 44, a Mexican sales clerk and resident of Mexico, is currently serving time for one count of drug trafficking and one count of importation of drugs. Urias was arrested on Thursday, December 1, 2011, by police after a search of his vehicle revealed a total of 111 kilos of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment.
Urias was taken to the Corozal District, Magistrate’s Court on Friday, December 2, 2011, where he was read both charges by Magistrate Clive Lino. Urias pleaded guilty to both charges and after consideration the court rendered penalties for both counts.
For the count of drug trafficking Urias was given 8 years in prison and a fine of $100,000. If Urias fails to pay that fine, a default of an additional 8 years will be given to him; those two 8-year sentences would run consecutive to each other.
On the count of importation of drugs, the same charges were given to him, which is 8 years imprisonment and a fine of $100,000. The default for non-payment of the fine would be an additional eight years. The two sentences of 8 years per count would, run concurrently, but consecutive to the fines; this would amount to a minimum of 8 years to a maximum of 24 years imprisonment for Urias if he defaults on the fine payments.
At press time tonight, we could not confirm the existence of a timeframe on the fine payments, but police told us that thus far, Urias has not made any payment to the court.
Corozal police made the arrest on Thursday, December 1, 2011, after conducting a search of Urias’ vehicle.
Police said that Urias was driving a Mexican vehicle with license plate #Estade-Mexico-KY-90515 in the direction of the Mexico-Belize border when he stopped in a parking lot, and police, who were alerted by an officer that the vehicle looked “suspicious,” were able to catch up to it, and conducted a full search of it.
The driver, Urias, was a shoe salesman and had been coming, allegedly, from the Guatemalan border back over to Mexico, through Belize.
We learned that Urias’ vehicle was seen on numerous occasions passing through Belize and back over into Mexico, and it was an observant police officer from Corozal that alerted his colleagues of the vehicle’s direction, and that it looked “suspicious.”
The police removed the front of the camper and found the drugs, which were marked with initials XT. These drugs are said to be worth over US $2 million.
Urias had shoe boxes with shoes in the back of the camper, supposedly as a cover. We contacted the Mexican Embassy for added information, but we were told they don’t have a comment on the matter.