A trio of Guatemalans has been convicted of encroaching into Belize. They were caught last week Friday near the Ceibo Chico Conservation Post in South Chiquibul. They were panning for gold, but one of the men identified as Mario Rolando Xol Caal carried three live rounds of 16 gauge ammunition – and later handed over a sawed off shotgun he had stashed away at their camp. The other two men, Marcos Domingo Pana Chiquin and Esteban Putul Mai each carried a transparent tube with liquid and a small amount of suspected gold mineral inside the tube. All three men are originally from the village of El Naranjon, in Peten, Guatemala.
The three were ferried to the San Ignacio Police Station where Police charged them with various offences. On Monday of this week, the San Ignacio Magistrate convicted Mario Rolando Xol Caal and sentenced him to 5 years in prison for Keeping an Unlicensed Firearm and 5 years in prison for Keeping an Unlicensed Ammunition with the sentences to run concurrently. Esteban Putul Mai and Marcos Domingo Pana Chiquin were fined each $1,000.00 for illegal prospecting to be paid forthwith or in default serve 6 months in prison.
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A trio of Guatemalans has been convicted of encroaching into Belize. They were caught last week Friday near the Ceibo Chico Conservation Post in South Chiquibul. They were panning for gold, but one of the men identified as Mario Rolando Xol Caal carried three live rounds of 16 gauge ammunition – and later handed over a sawed off shotgun he had stashed away at their camp. The other two men, Marcos Domingo Pana Chiquin and Esteban Putul Mai each carried a transparent tube with liquid and a small amount of suspected gold mineral inside the tube. All three men are originally from the village of El Naranjon, in Peten, Guatemala.