A coordinated series of anti-narcotics operations carried out across Belize between September 14 and 19, 2026, has resulted in criminal charges against five individuals and the seizure of multiple batches of cocaine and crack cocaine, law enforcement officials confirmed this week. The busts unfolded across three major population centers: San Ignacio, Belize City, and the popular coastal tourist hub of San Pedro, with investigators executing search warrants on residential properties and moving vehicles to take suspects into custody. In a public breakdown of the operation’s details, Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, a staff officer with the department, walked through the sequence of arrests and seizures step by step.
The first arrest came on September 14, when 25-year-old Jose Rash was taken into custody at his San Ignacio home. A court-authorized search of the property turned up 3.3 grams of cocaine, leading to an immediate charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The next day, on September 15, members of the specialized GI3 law enforcement unit pulled over a vehicle driven by Brandon Eze on Coney Drive in Belize City. A search of the vehicle yielded the operation’s single largest seizure: 1,000 grams of pure cocaine, a haul that accounts for more than 98% of all narcotics seized across the week’s operations. Eze was formally arrested and charged the same day.
Three more suspects were taken into custody on September 19 in two separate busts. In San Pedro, local police arrested 75-year-old Dennis Galinas at his residence after a search uncovered 1.91 grams of suspected cocaine. Galinas was immediately charged with possession with intent to supply. Hours later, the Special Tactical Response team executed a search warrant at a shared residence, where they found 2.7 grams of crack cocaine. Three residents of the home — 45-year-old Jaime Gutierrez, 21-year-old Doris Vasquez, and 40-year-old Elvira Mejia — were taken into custody and jointly charged with the same drug trafficking offense, bringing the total number of suspects charged across the week-long crackdown to five. All five suspects remain in law enforcement custody as the judicial process moves forward, with investigations into broader potential drug distribution networks ongoing. This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television newscast, with original Kriol-language statements standardized to conventional English spelling for this publication.