Email

Print

He is free tonight but his freedom depends on what the DPP decides. Today in an interview with 7news, he told us when police picked him up and locked him down; he had no idea what he was being detained for:

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"It happened the previous Thursday - I was doing my job like everything else. I am a tour operator and I had to meet my guest at the Tourism Village and I had to go to the caves to make sure that they get their tubes and everything, so I was doing my job when about 1pm the police came looking for me in the village of Frank's Eddy. When they came and pick me up, they ask me my name and I told them Yoni Rosado, then they told me to get in the truck because they had information to arrest you. I ask the officer can I know for what because I know I haven't done anything wrong other than being on TV and fighting for our rights in the tube business. No information was given, they put me in the back of the truck and they drove me very fast."

Monica Bodden
"So you had no idea why you were arrested or what was happening last Thursday?"

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"No idea. Like I say, as professionals as we are as smart as we are we've seen cops on TV and all the stories through the TV and Facebook - so our right is to ask can I know what are you taking me in for? and the police just replied 'go in the truck or you want us to put you in the truck.' When I got to Belmopan they took me to the "pisshouse" and all I remember I was asking again what have I done wrong and there was no reply. While I was on my way from my worksite to Belmopan Police Station I manage to make a phone call to Tom Greenwood as we are fighting together with the FECTAB stuff and that was the only phone call that I was manage to make and I told Tom Greenwood that police came for me for whatever reason I don't know and then the police saw me with my phone and they took away my phone. There was no communication until 7pm."

Reporter
"What happen next after that?"

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"While I was locked up Tom Greenwood came from Belize City because he was working in whatever he was doing and came to Belmopan and then he started to inquire what was happening. Until 7pm when they manage to give me a little bit of freedom and then I was release under his custody to finish my business there and then I was supposed to be charge the following day which was Friday. I asked Tom Greenwood what was going on because I am lost. He said that there have been 7 allegations against you with firearm going around Franks Eddy like cowboy shooting in the air and that I put something that appeared to be a firearm to someone's head."

"I've done my own investigation - I don't live in Franks Eddy, I live here in the city and I only do business there. I find that this is very confusing to me because I have a firearm license for the last 5 years. The laws have just change in the previous months or probably a year ago - why would I be doing such a thing now that the law is saying that any report against firearm you will be locked up. If so be the case I would be locked up 4 years ago - probably a month after I got my firearm. I need my firearm for the protection for myself and my business. In fact the police trained you not to show your firearm to anybody."

"All the allegations that were there are very shocking and confusing but there is no way they could have gathered one bit of proof because it didn't happen. We live in an era of cellphones, all cellphones have camera - they don't have a picture of me going around like cowboy, they don't have a shed of my bullets. There is a new ballistic machine - no evidence at all. But the police stated to Tom Greenwood that they don't need evidence. Once somebody come and report against you they will do their job to pull you in and the investigations follow after."

Reporter
"In terms of no specifics - the accuser, he is also known to be a member of FECTAB and a former employer of you?"

Yoni Rosado, Cavetubing.com
"Yes, like I said it was very shocking to us to find out that the person is pushing all of this. In school you have friends in class; some real and some don't and Tom Greenwood was the one that found out that it was a tour company. I remember when we do cavetubing - I was the first young man that came up with cavetubing.com 12 years ago. If you Google cavetubing, right now there are about 12 different names. I feel good in my heart that I was the first one and then I am the only one in Belize have an ATV jungle tour. When I came up with ATVs jungle tour in 2006 there was Discovery Expedition, there was Crocland coming up and now I am the only one so obviously something good I do in my business that is working."

"From 2006 I started with 10 ATVs and now I have 35 ATVs, I am doing great. The company that is accusing me is another cavetubing company that is coming up. They cannot handle the competition or they are being program by someone else. I don't really want to beat on him but there is a system God has set us that you do wrong you are going to pay with a little bit extra."

Rosado told us that he is waiting on the DPP's final decision on whether or not firearm charges will be made against him.