And, while there is some special consideration for that small community, there is going to be no consideration at all for border jumpers, contraband smugglers, or those who purchase and consume contraband.
In a draconian crackdown, if you are caught with a single contraband product, you will face the same penalty as a person caught on the Rio Hondo smuggling a wholesale contraband cargo. And that penalty isn't a fine anymore, it's 6months in jail, and no bail at the magistrate's court!
That's like a firearm offence, and the AG explained why government has no more patience for border jumpers:
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Attorney General
"Who has gotten us here tonight are the people who insist on going across the border, those people who facilitate these people who go across the border, and quite frankly, those of us who support these border jumpers. And so, stiff penalties and stiff approaches have been developed to deal with people who jump the border, [to] deal with people who facilitate those who jump the border, and [to] with people who are on Facebook boasting about the fact that they benefit from border jumpers."
"I saw on Facebook already people are already posting up contraband beer, and [other] things and making a joke of it. Let me tell you something, you will not be laughing if the police, BDF, and or Coast Guard grab you with that in your possession after tonight."
"We have increased the time that people will get, [the] penalty for people who are the infamous border jumpers. If you come across the border illegally, and we catch you, for the first offense, it will be 6 months in jail. And as the Prime Minister said, we plan to go to the National Assembly to ensure that anybody who jumps the border cannot get bail from the magistrate. They will have to get bail from the Supreme Court. So, if you jump the border, you're going to jail in the first instance for at least the first week, after you have quarantined, and you are determined to be healthy. If you are found guilty, 6 months in prison. For a second offense, you will spend a year in jail."
"Any person found with a good that is prohibited or restricted under the Customs Regulations Act shall be deemed to be a person entering Belize pretty much as a border jumper. So, if you buy a case of Mexican beer, and you find you with a case of Mexican beer, the law will presume that you got it from a border jumper, and treat you like a border jumper, and you will be arrested, no bail, and if found guilty with the beer, 6 months in jail. For the second offense [it's] 1 year in jail."
"We will go to the National Assembly to say that in addition to that 6 months in jail, and in addition to that 1 year in jail, you will pay 3 times the value of the contraband good. So, I am putting on notice all those - and it's not just beer, Dorian. All those illegal vegetables, all illegal toilet paper, Clorox, and everything that they're selling in Corozal, anybody associated with that good will be arrested, charged, and treated as a border jumper. The people who buy from these border jumpers and the people who do business with these border jumpers are encouraging border jumper. So, we're gonna stop it from the supply side, and the demand side. If you are a customs officer, immigration officer, a national security officer, and you're aiding and abetting in this, you will be treated as a border jumper. You're going to jail for 6 months."
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