7 News Belize

Tonight, the Customs Department in Orange Walk is still tabulating the full value of the massive contraband bust they made yesterday on the Rio Hondo, 12 miles behind August Pine Ridge. There were five dories coming across from Mexico loaded with fruits and vegetables, beer and soft drinks. Two of the dories threw their contraband cargo into the river - while the other dory captains abandoned their vessels. So Customs only got the goods from three of the five dories. And that included 52 sacks of onion, 25 cases soft drink , 20 sacks of lime ,15 cases pears, 15 crates of mango, 30 cases raisin, 15 cases lettuce, 5sacks cabbage, 5 cases tomatoes, 25 cases of beer, 3 sacks of carrots, 15 sacks of flour, and 2 sacks of potatoes. Along with the dories, this had to be carted out on two BDF four-ton trucks, a police F-150 truck and four Customs vehicles. This is just an indication of the scale of the contraband operation - and as many as 40 customs, police and BDF personnel had to be called in to deal with it. Originally, only four officers spotted the dories coming across - and the contraband smugglers had set road blocks to prevent them from leaving with the very valuable goods. Those road blocks were dismantled when the additional personnel came in. And while the bust is substantial, Customs authorities tell us it's really just a microcosm of the robust cross border trade in contraband that flourishes in areas such as San Victor and Santa Cruz - which are nearer to the Hondo.

The value of this bust so far is estimated at twenty thousand Belize dollars - including the engine powered dories.