Also in custody is Jose Luis Robles Beltran who is being held by Corozal police tonight as the source of the $20,156.00 US dollars he was carrying now being investigated.
The police are also trying to hold him long enough so that the DPP can ask the Supreme Court to hear the charges which have already been disposed of at the Magistrate's Court level.
Police Minister Doug Singh today said they are trying their best to keep him in lawful custody:
Hon. Doug Singh, Minister of Police
"We certainly think that this is an unfortunate situation. The police did everything it possibly could to try to ensure that we secure the conviction and incarceration of the individual. Unfortunate set of circumstances, but you are correct, the Director of Public Prosecution continues to work at it. I believe today she is filing a matter, that is an appeal matter
on the first charge. And on the first charge we are speaking of where the individual was set off on bail after a guilty plea. On the second matter which is the counterfeit matter I believe that she is subjecting to judicial review, I hope I don't have it backwards but she is actually taking two actions separately against the two different decisions, they were done at different times; one on Friday and one on Monday. We continue to detain the individual and we are seeking today to get the permission officially to continue to detain the individual and that is where we are at at this point in time."
"We have received information that links this individual to some well-connected people. As a matter of fact I believe it was confirmed and I hope I am not mis-speaking but it was confirmed by the Mexican Embassy that this individual is no longer a member of the military. I don't know the circumstances of the discharge, we can always find out. That is contrary to some of the claims that he has made on what was reported to us. The individual appears to be no stranger to the free zone, apparently he has been in and out for the purchase of certain things there but who knows what else is being conducted?"
Jules Vasquez
"Is it your opinion that he has been pursuing illicit business in Belize, in the free zone?"
Hon. Doug Singh, Minister of Police
"Well I don't have any evidence to that but we are going to look into the matter and we are going to actually put some corrective measures in place however best we can with respect to the free zone."
As we've reported, Robles Beltran was also found with a .25 calibre pistol and pleaded guilty to both the firearm and ammunition charges He was then sentenced to 2 years each for the firearm and ammunition charges to be run concurrently but worked the system by filing an appeal with the courts, which allowed for him to post bond and receive bail.
He was then charged with the possession of counterfeit currency to which he also pleaded guilty but the magistrate dismissed the charges.
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