In a developing criminal case out of northern Belize, two local men have been formally charged with severe offenses including kidnapping and death threat following a police interception in the Corozal District, official law enforcement records confirm. The entire incident unfolded over a three-day period, beginning with a reported abduction on October 3, 2026, and concluding with the arrest and charging of the two accused just two days later.
Authorities took into custody 28-year-old Alex Marcus Lewis, a local laborer, and 40-year-old Brian Ezikel Dena, a construction worker, both citizens of Belize, on Monday, October 5. The pair is being held jointly accountable for the two criminal charges, according to official police statements.
The intervention that ended the alleged abduction took place on Saturday, when district police received an urgent report that two men had been taken against their will. Acting quickly on the tip, law enforcement officers stopped and searched a red pickup truck traveling through the San Andres neighborhood of Corozal. Inside the vehicle, police found all four people involved: the two alleged victims, 38-year-old Ricardo Zetina and 32-year-old Walter Pineda, alongside the two suspects who had been holding them.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, who leads the National Crimes Investigation Branch, shared details of the victims’ account. According to Romero, Zetina and Pineda told investigators they were forced into the suspects’ vehicle at gunpoint, and were repeatedly interrogated about a cache of stolen property the accused claimed the pair had purchased. After the initial questioning, the suspects reportedly were driving to confront the brother of one of the victims when a witness contacted local police to report the kidnapping.
Romero confirmed that the suspects’ motive stems from their personal allegation that the two victims knowingly bought stolen goods from other residents of the Corozal District. As of press time, the two accused remain in police custody, and a court date has not yet been scheduled for their preliminary hearing. Law enforcement officials have urged any residents with additional information related to the incident or the alleged stolen property ring to contact the Corozal District police precinct to assist with the ongoing investigation.