7 News Belize

No One Called the Cops?
posted (March 1, 2017)

So, as you saw, Mark Tench said that he and the other investigators did all they could to find out which immigration officer stole those visas from  the Belize Western Border Station. He said that after their operation, word got out that the Immigration higher-ups know that it had happened. Tench said that he and the senior officers from the Western Border believe that there were other officers who participated or were complicit in the theft. But, because the officers realized that they were under suspicion, everyone prepared themselves to stand up to any kind of questioning. 

Tench told the Senate today that this should have been the time when his superiors got the police involved to activate a criminal investigation. The problem, according to Tench, is that they never did. Here’s how he explained his frustration at their fumbling:

Mark Tench - Former Supervisor, BWBS
"One thing I want to say is that upon returning from that trip that night, when we came from Corozal with information that we had I told Mr. Cano to call the police because I told him-"

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"Call what?"

Mark Tench
"Call the police because I told him we could not carry that investigation any way further, that's what I told him. I told him you need to call the police because we have done everything, we cannot take this anymore, we cannot call in anybody from off the street; the reason why those people met with us is because they thought we could help them with something but now that it would have turned into a point of a criminal offence, they wouldn't talk to us anymore, they would not do that. So I told them call the police, let us get the police involved so that they can do a thorough investigation and we already knew most of the facts, it would have been just to push a little more we would have gotten that whole thing but they never did."

Hon. Elena Smith - Labour Senator
"Now, Mr. Cano's response Mr. Tench when you made that suggestion to him to call the police?"

Mark Tench
"He didn't say anything."

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"You know if the police were involved at any point?"

Mark Tench
"No."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"So as far as you know, no report was made to the police?"

Mark Tench
"As far as I know, me and Mr. Leslie was blamed for these visas being missing, I am the only person who has done any investigation on this matter and even when they had the hearing last year and we got exonerated from that hearing through the public service commission they still have not done any investigation. And the thing about is that it is unfair to the department, the scandal with the department to all the officers who have been dragged here and the real culprits have never even asked a simple question."

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