A large shipment of contraband Chinese cigarettes from Belize were apprehended in Honduras five days ago.
A Guatemalan national was apprehended by Military Police from the Puerto Cortés Naval Base in the Barra de Chamelecón area on Saturday October 25th, with 574 boxes of Modern-brand cigarettes and 43 packets of loose Modern cigarettes in his possession, with an estimated value of about 400 thousand US dollars. Police intercepted the unregistered sailboat, named "Avante" where Milton Estuardo Guerra was on board and so He was arrested and charged for the crime of smuggling.
Reports to 7news say this shipment originated out of the Big Creek Port in southern Belize.
An investigative news report in Guatemala recently found that much of the region's smuggled cigarettes - particularly ones from Asia - are coming out of the Corozal and Benque Free Zones. The report also says that this smuggling generates massive funding for organized crime.
The trade in these Chinese cigarettes is controlled by a few wealthy merchants in Belize's free zone. Their trade is transacted mainly in cash - leaving them with large reserves to fund political parties and other ventures.
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