7 News Belize

Cop Accused Of Stealing Trove Of Weapons
posted (May 5, 2014)
On Friday morning at 7:00, San Pedro police discovered that eight - 38 revolvers and 101 live rounds of ammunition had been stolen from the police station. The guns had been stored there in a metal safe by KBH Security. But it turns out the lock on the safe wasn't working right - someone picked it and stole the gun. That "someone" was most likely a policeman - and most likely, the guns were going to be sold into the criminal underworld - and fast. So, police had to act swiftly to locate and apprehend the suspect - and in Belize City they zeroed in on police constable Yanick Wade. 12 Hours after the theft was discovered - Wade's house was the target of an intensive raid:

Sr. Supt Edward Broaster, 2nd O/C Eastern Division
"We view this as a serious breach of trust. We are the custodians of the community safety and security and when as police we are breaking and breaching that trust we take that very serious."

Jules Vasquez reporting
And that's why on Friday night at 7:00 pm, four police mobiles and about two dozen officers descended on this address at the corner of Johnson Street and Cemetery Road.

Constable Yanick Wade was escorted around his girlfriend's family home property in handcuffs. On this night he was the suspect.

He is believed to have left his post on San Pedro on Thursday morning - calling in sick and returning to the city. But police believe he came back with a stash of weapons.

Sr. Superintendents Alford Grinage and Edward Broaster led the recovery effort - and were working against time, searching low and high - all over the property for the stolen weapons where we learnt one of the officers reported sick and was nowhere to be found we had to ensure that we found him the crucial 12 hours we conducted surveillance eon him as a result of that surveillance we executed several searches one on his premises on Faber's road the secondary search - 2 of the firearms that were stolen from San Pedro.

Sr. Supt Edward Broaster, 2nd O/C Eastern Division
"We leant that one of the officers who were on duty at that time reported sick and was nowhere to be found. So we had to ensure that we found him and really the crucial hours for us, not 48 - the first 12 hours were very crucial for us and we knew we had to find him. We eventually did where we conducted surveillance on him. As a result of that surveillance we executed several searches, one on his premises at Faber's Road and the secondary search we conducted on Cemetery Road which led to the discovery of 2 of the firearms that was stolen from San Pedro."

"The first firearm was found tucked behind some old vehicle parts; car doors, bumpers and what have you and the second firearm was found in the ceiling tucked from behind the barber shop."

Police cross checked the serial numbers right on scene - and they were a match. Wade's pregnant girlfriend's entire family was taken to the station, including a small child and three women, and while he hung his head to avoid the camera - for this officer in handcuffs - criminal charges were automatic. But, while it was a very swift investigation - it's still wide open because 6 guns are unaccounted for: six more firearms is still outstanding this investigation is by no means diligent effort - other firearms form other players.

Sr. Supt Edward Broaster, 2nd O/C Eastern Division
"6 more firearms are still outstanding. This investigation is by no means concluded. We are as we speak still in diligent effort to try and recover other firearms from other players and hopefully we would be able to achieve that very shortly. For us it is crucial that we make every effort and left no stones upturn to ensure that we get those firearms back off the street."

Jules Vasquez
"Might there be other officers involved? Might there be known criminal involved?"

Sr. Supt Edward Broaster, 2nd O/C Eastern Division
"At this time I will not comment on that. There are some crucial leads that we are following as we speak. As I told you the investigation is ongoing and there may or may not be others involved in this matter."

And while the entire property was cordoned off and searches were conducted the next day - none of the other weapons was found here or anywhere else.

We note that while the guns were discovered missing on Friday morning, they were put in the safe on Wednesday night, so they could have disappeared anytime between Wednesday at 8:00 pm, and Friday morning at 7:00 am. We note that while Wade's entire extended family was detained, on the advice of the DPP, only he was charged.

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