MAHOGANY HEIGHTS, Belize District, Thurs. Oct. 18, 2018– Two Guatemalan policemen have been remanded until December 12 after they were taken to the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of keeping a prohibited firearm and keeping ammunition without a gun license.
The two Guatemalan cops, identified as Jose Juan Garcia Palma, 31, of Los Amates Izabal, Guatemala, and Armando Hub Pop, 35, of Coban Alta Vera Paz, Guatemala, were busted in their vehicle in the Western Free Zone in Benque Viejo Del Carmen at about 10:30 Saturday morning with an Uzi submachine gun, and twenty-five 9mm live rounds.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Alejandro Cowo, said that the two men are police officers of the Guatemala National Police and that the case has been turned over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Police said that they were conducting patrols in the Western Free Zone Saturday morning, when they stopped and searched a Toyota Hilux pickup with Guatemala license plates, in which two men were traveling.
Inside the vehicle, police found the Uzi submachine gun and the live rounds loaded in two magazines. The two men were immediately informed of the offenses, and then they were taken to the Benque Viejo Police Station, where they were booked.
Today, the two Guatemalan cops remain remanded.