Two Guatemala nationals, Adelmo Mancia, 24, and Rolando Ramirez, 35, were arrested on Friday, June 14, 2013 in the Chiquibul Forest.
The Joint Forces Team for the Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD) were on patrol in the Chiquibul Forest near the Tapir Camp, where they saw two Hispanic men moving towards the Caracol Road. The men were caught around 7:30 p.m. in the area.
Mancia was armed with a .38 revolver with five cartridges while Ramirez was armed with a 16-gauge shotgun with three .38 revolver ammunition. The men also had in their possession 64.6 grams of cannabis.
The men were about five miles away from the Western Border and were moving further into the interior of the forest. They were apparently seeking xate leaves and hunting game species, both of which are illegal activities in the area.
Both men were detained and taken to the San Ignacio Police Station, where they were formally charged for keeping a firearm without a gun license, keeping ammunition without a license and drug trafficking.
They are scheduled to appear in court this week. Mancia is from La Rejoya and Ramirez is from Dolores, Peten.