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She was just elected to the village council on a UDP slate, but has a grievance going back some months – when she alleges that police took her pickup without authority. She came all the way to Belize City to get her grievance heard in the media today.

Laverne Arzu - Villager Councilor, Seine Byte
"They didn't come to ask me for who the vehicle belong to, they just came and roughed up my son and beat my son and took away my vehicle - they jumped into my vehicle because it was on March 1st they took it away and I had some documents in there with $500 in there to license, insure and transfer it the same day."

Jules Vasquez
"But on what grounds did they take your vehicle? What explanation did they give you?"

Laverne Arzu
"They didn't give me any explanations all that they did was they told my brother that the vehicle was for him, that is mine - personal because my name is on it and I bought it."

Jules Vasquez
"Are they alleging that the vehicle is used in the drug trade?"

Laverne Arzu
"No they have not said that they suspect me of money laundering. I can't understand why it's money laundering because they can't go by heresay they have to go with what they can prove. They didn't find me with any drugs, with no money they haven't found me with anything."

Jules Vasquez
"Have you received any sort of receipt or paper saying 'we're holding your vehilce and at a certain point you can reclaim it'?

Laverne Arzu
"They didn't even tell me that."

Jules Vasquez
"No, you must have gotten a paper or something."

Laverne Arzu
"There is a God above, I didn't get not one paper not even a person came to tell me the reason why they are holding my vehicle, nor nothing."

Jules Vasquez
"What would you like to see happen m'am?"

Laverne Arzu
"Well I've been to a lot of people and I've talked to the Minsiter of National Security already and I've talked to Internal Affairs already. Mr. Flowers himself, I went to him and nobody has gotten back to me so I called 'Fawda' and I went to his house so he can try to help me."

Phillip 'Fawda' Henry - Advocate
"So I decided to go down to the station and ask to speak to Mr. Flowers, when he came on the verandah he was without shirt and right there and then the young police officer knows me because my son is a police officer in Dangriga, so he stood up and said 'Good afternoon sir'. Mr. Flowers started to say the 'F' word, the 'get out of my village word' and 'i don't know you - you are a crazy black man' and 'you're an illiterate, look at how you look'. I asked him if he was aware who he was speaking to and when I told him my name he seemed like he doesn't watch the news often. I told him I was there to check about Ms. Arzu's vehicle and that was when he told me he had nothing to say to me."

Jules Vasquez
"Now ma'm you're a recently elected UDP Village Councilor - you mean you can't get any help from the various UDP's you're in contact with?"

Laverne Arzu
"Well like I told you, I've spoken to Mr. Saldivar - he only told me he would get back to me and I haven't gotten an answer. 'Mr. Saldivar I want you to know that I want an answer' because this is over four months if I am suspected of anything then why haven't I been investigated so that I know what is happening because they are keeping me back from everything. My vehicle is my life and everything."

Jules Vasquez
"How many vehicles have been taken from Seine Byte residents?"

Laverne Arzu
"They've taken away about six to seven vehicle. Not only vehicle they have even taken away people's windows from their houses, machines that they use to go fishing to make a life for themselves. They want us to go and steal and if we steal they will still lock us up. Now we are buying our stuff to make our own business and they are still taking it away from us. Where do they want to see us? Dead?!"

As always, there are two sides to every story. We spoke to a very composed Inspector Mark Flowers who said there is nothing irregular about the seizures of vehicles or other property. He says police were tasked to confiscate the items by the Financial Intelligence Unit which is investigating the sudden and conspicuous wealth of a number of persons in Seine Byte village. He says the FIU is reviewing a number of suspicious transactions and under that agency's authority, the vehicles continue to be held at Ministry Headquarters in Belmopan.

As for Phillip "Fawda" Henry, Flowers says he did treat him brusquely and drive him away but that's because he says "Fawda" was posing as a journalist from Channel 7 News, which he is not.