Five Charged After Firearm and Ammunition Seized in Belize Police Raid

Belize: Five people were arrested in Unitedville, Cayo District, on Tuesday, June 2, after police found a hidden firearm and ammunition during a Special Patrol Unit (SPU) raid. They have been charged with possessing a gun and ammunition without a licence.

The arrested men have been identified as Calvin Garcia, Sydney Forbes, Kareem Garcia, Bernadine Myers and Kevin Trapp, who were arrested during the Unitedville raid. 

According to police reports, on Tuesday, June 2, the officers attached to the Special Patrol Unit (SPU) executed a targeted search warrant on a specific residence in Unitedville village, located within the Cayo District, and dispatched to the scene. 

On arrival at the location, officers entered the premises after identifying themselves and starting searching the premises, during which the officers discovered a hidden .22 caliber pistol which was loaded with five live rounds of ammunition.

The officers then questioned the occupants about the gun and asked them to produce a licence but none of the occupants inside the home could produce a valid firearm license, and no single individual took immediate ownership of the weapon.

Following which the officers seized the weapon along with the five live rounds to be used as primary evidence in the upcoming court trial. After that officers arrested all the five individuals present in the room and took them into police custody. 

The officers then charged all the men jointly for keeping a firearm without a gun license and keeping ammunition without a gun license after a specific questioning. Investigators are now scheduling their date of arraignment in the court of justice. 

Authorities confirmed that this raid was part of their larger, coordinated anti-gun and anti-crime operation executed by tactical law enforcement units across southern and western Belize to reduce the gun related violence and intercept unlicensed weapons.