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There’s an old saying in Creole – which – in English – goes something like this: “don’t watch me get into trouble, watch me get out.” And that’s how it’s been for Giovanni “Nose” Luriano. As we told you on Friday, the often-accused rarely-charged Belize City resident has – in a manner of speaking – made a business out of escaping charges.

And again...on Friday we reported that he had been charged for a firearm offence after police intercepted him on a bus on Thursday – allegedly with an unlicensed firearm loaded with 18 rounds. It turns out though that he wasn’t charged for carrying a weapon – instead – in a bizarre turn he has been charged for not paying duty on the weapon.

Luriano went to court today for, “knowingly concerned with and dealing with uncustomed goods and knowingly acquiring goods which are uncustomed” – except in this case, it’s not a case of contraband beer, the uncustomed item is an Austria Brand nine milimeter pistol valued at two-thousand, six hundred dollars. The goods are valued at and the Comptroller of Customs is requiring him to pay three times the value which is seven-thousand, eight hundred dollars.

It’s a consequential difference, because being caught with an unlicensed firearm means going to prison for a while at least on mandatory remand, but uncustomed goods is a bailable offence. And, sure enough, the police prosecution did not object and he was offered bail of two thousand six hundred dollars.

To go over the details of the case again: on Thursday night, police saw Luriano with what appeared to be acting suspiciously on a bus at the Novelo’s terminal in Belize City. They tried to get the gun away, but he fought them off and then ran out into the street where he allegedly threw the gun into an open lot on Gibnut Street. Police captured him later and brought him back to the scene to recover the pistol.