And, after coming back infected - they were then briefly let out of
quarantine - due to some major breakdown in internal controls at the
Port.
It's a public health mess - largely due to multiple omissions by the
Port of Big Creek. And, yesterday, the Commissioner of Police told us
that's why the multiple people along the chain of authority have to be
held to account.
But in bringing criminal charges against public officers who were just
doing their jobs - he has incurred the ire of the Customs and
Immigration Departments, and the Port Authority.
Customs is the beefiest of those agencies and yesterday, the
comptroller held a rare press conference to stand up for his officer
and throw some shade upon the police department for crossing a thick
red line. The commissioner of Police responded in almost real time -
and here are the points and counterpoints made by the leaders of these
two pre-eminent enforcement agencies:
Colin Griffith - Comptroller, Customs
"Customs has to classify the AJ Ellis as a compliant trader. We had never
had an issue with the AJ Ellis and there is no way that officer Deon
Castillo would have known that the clearance issued on the 25th July - the
intention of the AJ Ellis was to perform a private enterprise between
Roatan and mainland Honduras."
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"The purpose of the voyage was not for cargo. The tugboat went to undergo
repairs, now that does not fall within the scope of the SI and so, it is
only right that these public officers who granted the permission for this
tugboat to have left the country and return with 5 COVID positive persons
who later on ended up in the Independence community to be held accountable.
This is an egregious infraction and we cannot just allow it to go just like
that."
Colin Griffith
"It has sent ripples through the customs department and the other agency. I
just got off the phone with an individual from immigration. For me it's a
real bad day for the public service - and also it was annoying to recognize
or to learn that the Belize Police Department decided to object to bail.
The intention is to have this young public officer incarcerated."
Chester Williams
"And I also heard the comptroller said that we objected to bail, for Christ
sakes man, that is not true. When the gentlemen went to court this
afternoon, the prosecutor called me and asked me if the offence are
bailable. I said to him yes, they are bailable because they are not charged
under SI 1-19, they are charged under the SI which was signed by the
Minister of Health, which did not restrict bail."
Jules Vasquez
"Will there be any charges for the owners of the tug?"
Chester Williams
"At the end of the day, they are the ones who sent the tugboat to Rotan
Honduras on a voyage that did not fall within the scope of the regulation
and so yes, they will be charged if not yet - I know that I have given the
directive to the investigator to also charge the company."
Colin Griffith
"I have expressed that to the principals of Banana Enterprise, the
conversation I had with them that they should have declared that
information to Port, Immigration and Customs and I did say to them if that
was declared, that vessel would not have gotten the clearance and I believe
that they are quite aware of that. But I will leave it at that."
Notably the Comptroller of Customs has said that they have changed
their protocols to make sure this never happens again. Today, we noted
the circulation of detailed procedure notes for those exiting the
country by the various ports of entry.
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