This afternoon, the smell of burnt cocaine filled the Cayo air. The 1,225 pounds of cocaine that was found in Blue Creek in this Cessna 210 single engine plane 11 days ago was destroyed. The drugs were escorted by a convoy of police vehicles. Members from the GSU, BSAG, MIT, BDF, and Special Patrol guarded the drugs all the way to Pine Lumber in Georgeville for the destruction. And the team maintained their heavy presence at the site. Courtney Weatherburne was there and here is her story.
After 11 this morning, a fleet of police vehicles zoomed out of Belize City. The convoy was westbound transporting 1,225 pounds of cocaine to the Pine Lumber compound in Georgeville, where the fire raged on, feeding on scrap lumber.
While police officers and forensic personnel, dressed like surgeons, unravelled the neatly packaged parcels with pocket knives.
And then the team hurled the parcels into the blaze – just as Commander of Operations Chester Williams had said would be done.
DCP Chester Williams - Commander of Operations
"When we had the press conference following the interception of the aircraft with its content, we had said at that press conference that we will be doing our best endeavour to ensure that the then suspected cocaine would be destroyed within a reasonable time because having it in our custody do possess some threat from those persons who were involve in its trafficking."
Initially there were some murmurs about whether it was really cocaine, but Williams says the lab test results confirmed that.
DCP Chester Williams
"We had to get confirmation from the lab that the content of those parcels were indeed cocaine and that confirmation was obtained yesterday. We wanted the media to be there to be able to let the Belizean people know that what we indeed destroyed was cocaine - so that there are no rumours or to dispel rumours that some may want to spread in some quarters."
And now that those notions are dispelled and millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine has disintegrated into ash and smoke, it’s time to focus on the court case element.
DCP Chester Williams
"I am pleased to say that we have rid ourselves of that burden and we now look forward to the matter being heard before the court when the time comes."
The drugs were found on the night of September 9th. The drugs were transported to the city on the 10th and stored at the Queen Street Police station until the parcels were burnt today.
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