7 News Belize

And the Chamber also weighed in on those contraband cops that have been making news. The Chamber laments, what it calls, quote, "the apparent widespread facilitation by Police Officers in the transport of contraband of goods across the Belize/Mexico border." They complain that while the officers involved were charged for an "Act of Prejudice to Good Order and Discipline" and placed on interdiction, quote, "there is no mention that the statutorily prescribed fine of three times the value of the goods was levied against them. These officers were engaged in criminal activity and as such, we demand that they are subjected to the usual and full penalty that would be imposed against any other contrabandista. There can be no leniency when police officers are caught breaking the very laws they are sworn to uphold." END QUOTE. The release quickly goes from sermon to soapbox when it says, quote, " Our nation's economy is failing because of decades of corruption, not just by high officials, but also by those in the public sector whom we entrust with our socioeconomic wellbeingÃ¢â‚¬¦.contraband and other forms of corruption weaken our economy and our nation....It is time to break the corruption chain and take our country back from those who would steal it, or sell it out for pennies!" end quote.