A 67-year-old local resident of San Pedro Town is now facing a federal drug trafficking charge after law enforcement officers discovered a stash of suspected crack cocaine during a routine late-night patrol, authorities confirmed this week.
Jose Gonzalez, a long-time San Pedro resident, was taken into custody on September 2, following a stop by patrolling officers who noticed suspicious behavior from Gonzalez around 11:30 p.m., according to Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, the staff officer overseeing the case.
After officers pulled Gonzalez over for questioning, they informed him that they would conduct a legal search of his person. The search turned up a total of 3.89 grams of substance that field tests confirmed to be crack cocaine, Smith said in an official statement detailing the arrest.
Gonzalez has since been formally charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to supply, a charge that carries serious legal consequences under Belizean drug laws. Investigations into the case are still ongoing, as law enforcement continues to probe potential connections to larger local drug distribution networks. This report is a transcribed excerpt from a televised evening news broadcast, with all local Kriol language statements converted to standard English spelling for clarity in the online version. Viewers can access the full unedited broadcast via the link published alongside this story.