It has faded from the headlines, but in mid-2008 psuedo-ephedrine was on the news nightly because for a while containers were being jacked from the customs compound left, right and center, it seemed.
Thirty nine year old Customs Examiner Grade I Karl Augustine and 24 year old former Custom Examiner Grade II Michael McKenzie were caught up in the mix. They were accused of facilitating the theft of just such a container in Septmeber of 2008 and were charged with 2 counts of forgery.
Well, they were acquitted of the charges today in the court of Justice Adolph Lucas.
Justice Lucas directed the jury of 6 women and 3 men to return a formal verdict of not guilty for them after he upheld a no case to answer submission made by their attorneys Ellis Arnold and Carlo Mason.
The third accused person, 33 year old former junior custom officer Acuny Perez who was charged jointly with Augustine and McKenzie on 2 counts and alone on a third count of forgery, and he was acquitted of only the third count.
Justice Lucas ruled that Perez has a case to answer on the first and second count of forgery and he directed the jury only to acquit Perez on the third count which alleged that Perez forged a Port of Belize waybill.
The first count was that all three forged an "out of charge form" and the second count was that all three forged a custom and Excise Container application form that was supposedly signed by a representative of Reimer Feedmill.
Perez was represented by attorney Michael Peyrefitte. Senior Crown Counsel Cecil Ramirez, who represented the prosecution, called 17 witnesses.
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