A man from Sierra Leone who is stuck in Belize is claiming that he was extorted by an Immigration Officer at the PGIA. Reports to our newsroom say that Efrimea James Kojo entered Belize illegally, and made an attempt to leave the country on July 10th through the PGIA en route to Cuba. He reportedly cannot travel to the USA because he is reportedly wanted there for a sex crime.
In a video - allegedly captured by another immigration officer - Kojo alleges he the immigration officer extorted him for $1,000 dollars in exchange for assistance to leave Belize. Kojo also claims that the officer held his passport.
Efrimea James Kojo, Claims Extortion
"I came yesterday to grab my money, the rest of my money. They gave me nothing and they took my passport in. She owe me one thousand Belize [dollars] and I'm going to need that money."
And while that is what was captured - the officer being accused told us the charge is baseless and is a deliberate smear on her name.
Indeed, we are aware of very heavy machinations behind the scenes in a Department that is deeply divided with a significant faction opposed to Director Debra Baptist Estrada.
We did speak to CEO of the Ministry of Immigration Gilroy Middleton and he said the allegation is currently under investigation but added that they cannot disclose any details. He said that the complaint has to to go through regular public service procedures where the officer will have two weeks to respond to the complaint.
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