Law enforcement agencies across Belize have concluded a coordinated multi-location crackdown on illegal weapon and narcotics activity, bringing charges against seven adults and one minor following a series of targeted raids conducted in late May 2026.
The largest seizure of contraband took place in the capital city of Belmopan, where officers from the Gang Intelligence Investigation and Interdiction Unit executed a court-authorized search of a local residence on May 20. During the operation, investigators recovered 585 grams of material suspected to be crack cocaine. Three people—23-year-old Ayana Samuels, 19-year-old Taysha Young, and 20-year-old Akeem Myvette—were taken into custody and face joint charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Myvette has already entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to appear before the court on May 25 for formal sentencing.
Across the country on the island resort of Caye Caulker, a separate residential search turned up 19 Ziploc packets containing just over 16 grams of suspected cocaine, plus an additional four bags of cannabis totaling more than 21 grams. Both 22-year-old Idan Pineda and a 15-year-old minor from the local community were arrested and hit with joint charges of drug trafficking and illegal drug possession. A subsequent pat-down of Pineda uncovered four more small bags of suspected cocaine on his person, leading to an additional trafficking charge added to his case file.
In two separate operations run by Belize’s Special Patrol Unit in Belize City, two local men were taken into custody on unlicensed firearm charges. During a routine search, 31-year-old Kendale Carcamo of Ebony Street had a loaded 9-millimeter Beretta pistol fall from his waistband; the weapon was loaded with 14 live rounds, and officers also found a small quantity of suspected cocaine in his possession. A short distance away, 25-year-old Jermaine Anderson from the Conchshell Bay neighborhood was charged after investigators located a 9-millimeter Austrian-manufactured pistol during a search of his home.
Belizean law enforcement has confirmed that firearm possession charges are only pursued when there is concrete evidence proving that an individual had knowing custody or control of the unregistered weapon. The coordinated raids mark part of an ongoing push by local police to disrupt cross-community organized criminal activity tied to drug trafficking and illegal weapons proliferation across the country.