A resident of San Felipe in the Orange Walk District is in police custody after he tried to elude a checkpoint on the Northern Highway and when caught, was found with over $30,000 in jewelry.
He could provide any receipt for the any of the jewelry found in his possession, and furthermore, could not give police a satisfactory explanation of from where he got them.
Police said that they have not yet charged the man in court, but believe that he will be charged with handling stolen property. He has been fined $15,500 from the Income Tax Department, police told Amandala today. They believe that the man will be receiving additional charges beside handling stolen property.
They are, however, waiting for some of the jewelry to be identified by people who have had jewelry stolen from them, or to see whether the man can indeed provide documents to show his ownership.
Police said that yesterday, they decided to conduct patrols and set up road blocks, especially because the Belize Sugar Industry (BSI) cane farmers were collecting their second large payment. They observed a car heading towards the roadblock, and when the driver apparently realized what he was driving towards, he turned the car around and tried to escape.
Police said that they pursued the vehicle and when they caught it, found that there was only one occupant inside. A search of the car was immediately conducted and that was when they found a plastic bag with all sorts of gold jewelry. There were chains, esclavas, bracelets, medals, and almost any other jewelry you can think of.
The man was asked where he obtained the jewelry, and he replied that he had bought them. He had no documents to prove this, though, said police. They are therefore asking anyone who has lost jewelry due to robbery to visit the Orange Walk Police Station, where they can view the items.