Belize - Belize News - Channel5Belize.com - Great Belize Productions - Belize Breaking News
Home » Featured, Miscellaneous » GSU says McAfee’s research facility had unlicensed weapons
May 2, 2012

GSU says McAfee’s research facility had unlicensed weapons

The GSU has sent its own press release about the bust at McAfee’s residence. According to the release, a joint operation between the GSU, the B.D.F. and the Belize Special Assignments Group (B-SAG) also an arm of the police department conducted a search on the premises of John McAfee, at Tower Hill, Orange Walk District.  And a string of illegal activities seem to have been happening.

The property, the site of Belize Ecological Foundation Ltd, consists of nine houses, a shed, a freight container and a warehouse, all enclosed by a perimeter fence with two guard huts at the entrance. According to the GSU, it announced its presence and purpose was to search for drugs and illegal firearms.  Two armed guards were observed on the compound, and upon directive immediately surrendered.  Simultaneously the houses on the premises were cleared, one of which was serving as a laboratory.  Present on the premises at the time were John McAfee, his girlfriend who is a seventeen year old Belizean minor, five security guards. During the search ten firearms—seven, twelve gauge pump action shotguns; one, twelve gauge single action shotgun; one Taurus nine millimetre pistol and one, nine millimetre CZ pistol were found. Five air rifles with scopes resembling sniper rifles that use six point two six millimetre slugs were also found and two hundred and seventy twelve gauge cartridges.  Additionally, thirty nine millimetre rounds and twenty point thirty-eight rounds were also taken. According to the GSU, McAfee produced a company firearm licence for all the above firearms except the single action that is licensed to Tyron Morales and the nine millimetre CZ pistol.

Analysts at the Forensic Laboratory, and personnel from the Ministry of Health were taken to inspect the facility and samples of an alleged antibiotic apparently being manufactured at the Laboratory were also taken for analysis. The Ministry of Health has already confirmed that no licence has been granted to McAfee or any of his agents to manufacture antibiotics in Belize.  Doing so without a licence is an offence under the Antibiotics Act.

Further investigation led into a query regarding the employment of the security guards. This revealed that only two of the four guards on the premises were licensed to act as security guards.

And in regards to the fatally wounded man’s best friend, the GSU says that three of the eleven dogs on the premises attacked and bit one of the officers on his right thigh. The same dog then attacked a B.D.F. soldier who responded by fatally wounded the dog.

At the end of the search, three of the security guards were arrested and charged for “Providing Security Services without a License”. While McAfee, who was initially detained and charged for the offences of Kept Unlicensed Firearm and Ammunition, was later released.  This aspect is still under investigation as no such licence has yet been found in the records at Police Headquarters.


Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.

Advertise Here

28 Responses for “GSU says McAfee’s research facility had unlicensed weapons”

  1. say what? says:

    The only thing that surprises me in this entire story is that we have an Antibiotic Act AND we use.the GSU to enforce it! Now we don’t want no Amoxicillin Gang to get out of control…

  2. I Belize it says:

    Put up or shut up.

    The legitimacy of GOB is on the line.

  3. krtdiaz says:

    WHEN WILL THE GOB REIGN IN THE GSU? WHAT OTHER DAMAGE MUST BE DONE BEFORE THEY ARE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL? ANY PERSON WILLING TO SACRIFICE PERSONAL LIBERTIES IN THE PURSUIT OF PERSONAL SAFETY DESERVES NEITHER SAFETY NOR LIBERTIES…..WE ARE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THAT O[POINT WHERE WE ARE LOSING THE TWO. I AM APPALLED AT THEIR ACTION AND CLEAR DISREGARD FOR ANY THING SACRED. I HAD A TRUCK LOAD OF THEM PASS MY HOUSE AND TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF TEH HOUSE WITH ME CLEARLY STANDING ON THE VERANDAH WATCHING THEM…..DOES THIS MEAN THAT I AM NEXT??? I WORK FOR GOB IN A SENIOR LEVEL, I DO NOT SMOKE DRUGS OR HAVE OVER QUESTIONABLE CHARACTERS AT MY HOUSE BUT NOW I AM AFRAID THAT THEY MIGHT VERY WELL RAID MY HOUSE AND TRY TO PLANT DRUGS….AS FOR A GUN..I DO NOT HAVE ONE NOR HANDLE ONE SO THAT WOULD BE FAR FETCHED FOR ANYONE TO THINK THAT I HAD ONE AT HAND……I PRAY FOR BELIZE AND BELIZEANS…

  4. Bzeman says:

    How come no one is complaining about the disturbing fact that Mr. Mcafee 66 yrs old has a 17 yr old minor for a girlfriend? What kinds of bioligical agents is he playing with in our backyard?? What safety measures are in place to prevent some madness from happening with these biological agents. Moreso unlicensed weapons are illegal. People get locked up for one cartridge.
    No amount of charity, donations, or investment should cause us to turn a blind eye to a situation which has “disaster waiting to happen” written all over it. Just saying.

  5. belizean says:

    Journalism lacking, do not be distracted by the smoke. From how long has he been living with a MINOR!!!!!! A Belizean minor!!!!!!! How old were the other women found in the campus? Were there any other smaller children? he could have already cleaned up his campus also from the previous failed raid attempt. Not just because it is a rich white man and the GSU has a bad rap should we dismiss this story. OPEN YOUR EYES.

  6. Ram says:

    We had about 21 gang murders in April and the GANG Supresion Unit choses to go after a millionare whose biggest crime is makiing antibiotics? something seriously wrong with this

  7. Eye In The Sky says:

    The unlicensed security guards should have told the GSU they are government paid Gang Members and they would have been free to go.

  8. Me says:

    Gang crimes getting way out of control and they not going after the roots, the big bosses of these gangs. Now they going after this businessman who’s trying to make a difference by donating back to the public. The businessman seeing the crime situation stepping up his security as he may be the next one pounced upon by these thugs and gang members. The gangs and their big bosses are just creating havoc in this country, they are petted up, treated right, nothing done to them when they kill someone. They are treated as LEGENDS, STARS AND ALL THE REST AS IF THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING REAL GREAT, SOMETHING FOR THE YOUNG TO TRY AND IMITATE. Harrassing businessmen and others trying to make a difference in our society is not sending a message to the crime situation. Where is this country heading to?

  9. IloveuBelize says:

    My people, My people! Why are we so negative? If the police did nothing, they are criticized, if they do, they are still criticized. WTF do you want then? Leave the “white” man to continue his illegal activities? Have you not read the news? He was producing antibiotics illegally. You all missed the POINT. Why should he receive special treatment because he is rich? Maybe he thought his miliion dollar donation in equipment would have given him some protection but I say, the police have all rights to search his property if they suspect illegal activiities. NOONE is above the law. And as to his allegation about the politician….ITS JUST THAT. But the people some of us are will run away with it and make it sound political, We need to break loose from the chain that enslave us and begin to think for ourself. The police did what they needed to do. That man is no better than you or me.

  10. Easy glenn says:

    I loveu Belize you sound Jealous bad there is a song for “HELLO BAD MIND GOOD MORNING” CHAN DIZZY fe you boss they must pay you good you open your eyes and you sound very racist and silly dash we you computa and you no need it and start walk the streets and see weh the go on out yah

  11. Eye In The Sky says:

    Do you think Sir Alexander Fleming the planned on inventing penicillin. No he did so by accident messing around and it has changed the world. He did not go out and get a licence to try to discover penicillin. After penicillin was completed, Alexander Fleming collected 25 honorary degrees, 26 metals, 18 prizes, 13 decorations, a membership in 87 scientific academies and societies. He was knighted in 1944, then in 1945 he received the Noble prize for physiology or medicine. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/penicillin.htm
    McAfee is doing the same thing. Messing around with natural plants in the jungles of Belize and trying to see what he can do to save the world. Now when and IF he discovers anything significant then he will have to get a licence under the Antibiotics Act if he wants to manufacture antibiotics in Belize.
    Just like he did with his anti-virus invention.
    Belize has laws but the people in charge are too stupid to understand them. Not too worry, they can take McAfee to court all they want and will never win a case against him.
    Now the bad thing if he pulls out of Belize lots of people will lose good paying jobs, donations, great publicity and more.
    About all the security. If I had as many millions as he does.
    FIRST I would NOT be living in Belize, and if I did I WOULD have even a BIGGER Security Force protecting me in the country with such an unbelievable high murder rate.
    Belize your stupidity shames me.

  12. Skywalker says:

    What do you mean? If the police did nothing I would NOT have complained. The age of consent in Belize is 16 years old, so there is no legal wrong there. It’s not whether or not it is morally right. The police did not follow proper legal procedure and make themselves liable to court action. Antibiotics is another thing, but again… this man has been talking about it for years so I don’t think anything underhanded is going on. Besides, is he manufacturing or is he just doing research? These are the kinds of things we must consider. This is a big reason why Belize cannot succeed… it is either our mentalities or our laws that are not working.

  13. Islander says:

    Reading some of the posts just proves how IGNORANT some of our Belizeans are. For example it is not a crime to have a 17 year old girlfriend. The legal age for sexual consent in Belize is 16. WEATHER IT IS MORALLY RIGHT OR WRONG is irrelevant because different people consider different things morally acceptable.

    Educate yourselves my fellow Belizeans, know your laws before opening your mouth and showing to the world how dumb you are.

  14. David says:

    Throw out due process, mix in the all powerful GSU, who appear to be responsible only to themselves..and you are on the way to making a dictatorship and a country without investment or security much less human rights. Probable cause for searching a home is necessary and it takes more than a rumor to have probable cause. Driving by that compound I see the wall and the wire..I also see the rising crime rate, the violence and the GSU running free over the rights of Belize citizens everywhere..BDF is for the defense of our homeland..not for raiding houses and facilities owned by known residence..Heavy handed is what this is and that is being charitable..I regret that investors will read about this and once again go somewhere else to invest. If the man has a research facility in Orange Walk district..do not call it a manufacturing facility..I hope he sues the GOB, the GSU and the rest of the so called law inforcement gang that has decided that the price we pay for lowering crime is the loss of dignity and civil rights..

    DUE PROCESS, INNOCENT BEFORE GUILTY, PROBABLE CAUSE, CIVIL LIBERTIES and JUSTICE FOR ALL..except for those of us not in the GOB or the GSU or the BDF or whatever..

  15. John Galt says:

    …”licensed to act as security guards”? Really? An adult should be free to hire any other adult for any job they both agree on. There should be NO LICENSE!!! People should he able to buy and sell anything they want, hire and fire anyone they want, live any way they want as long as they do no harm to another person! http://www.LibertarianInternational.org

  16. Tyrin says:

    There is something wrong here. It seems someone is not happy here. Nothing here suggests that Mccaffe is a gangstar or criminal. This man is trying to create something that will probably save the lives of possibly millions of people, including you and your family. It beats me that someone who has invested so much in properties and employment over a relatively short period of time is about to be destroyed because he didn’t make contribution to some politician or gangstar. If he doesn’t have a license, get him to get the necessary license and continue his research assuming what he is doing is not ethical or morally wrong. If anything, the Belize government should encourage him and give him whatever he needs, even possibly invest in the new company.

    On the issue of the minor, if it is true and he was aware she was a minor, then he should face the consequences. But I know a lot of politicians have minors as there girlfriends and they are not really contributing to the betterment of mankind. Instead, they steal public funds and squander them on prostitutes and mistresses. They, should be fair on him and encourage him. Again, he should be made to get a license, maybe plus a small fine.

    From the look of things, since he started this projected in Belize it appears he has invested over $50million. You don’t just kick that kind of investment away because it won’t encourage others to invest in your economy. I know lots of presidents travel round the world looking for direct foreign investments. The Belize government should treat this fairly.

  17. belizeaninasia says:

    Ram…really? You think this is about Anitbiotics? Me…you think these people are here to “contribute” to the development of this nation? O.M.Gush! They gain from being here. That is the mentality of these people…to increase and preserve what they have. So please try reason better than you’re thinking. This man dare not do this kind of foolishness in America! But we let them come to Belize and have their own way and our own Belizeans are quick to run to their defense…I will never understand our mentality as a people.

  18. belizeaninasia says:

    He is an intelligent man what do you mean “… if it is true and he was aware she was a minor, then he should face the consequences.” He must know a minor or be smart enough to ask the girl her age. What do you mean “If he doesn’t have a license, get him to get the necessary license” ? It’s his responsibility to do so. He’s a big man and he been around and knows the law. Stop praise people fi di lee crumbs weh they scrape off the table fi di lee dogs ‘dem lick up and try to see the situation for what it is.

    I’m not saying people don’t do good. If they do it them show gratitude and if possible return the favor but don’t turn a blind eye to wrong doing. This is the same mentality we have toward politicians who give wah lee $50 fi vote fi them. Inspite of failing the people over and over again we run go vote fi dem. This is just an example. Something really wrong with we Belizeans fi true.

  19. Zach says:

    I worked, very closely, for John McAfee for five years and he couldn’t be a nicer, more compassionate man. Is he driven and unrelenting in ideas he is enthusiastic about? Absolutely. Will he speak his mind, and possibly upset those around him, about issues he believes in? You can bet on it! What he is NOT is some megalomaniacal, James Bond-villain with a secluded fortress, as some of posts seem to make him out to be. All this guy has ever wanted to do is GOOD. Whether it’s for computers or the internet community (PowWow represent!…look it up) or it’s for discovering HEALING medication for the masses (antibiotics defined…look it up), all of this is GOOD.

    All I know is that the only guns we ever shot on his property in Colorado were paintball guns. He also did not have a chain-linked fence around his place, with guard huts at the entrance. True, I know very little about living in Belize, but he must have had a damn good reason to have this kind of firepower handy. And from what others have posted here about the crime in Belize, I don’t think it was to prevent the authorities from looking at his herbs.

    As far as the seventeen year-old (alleged) girlfriend, all I can say is that it’s a good thing Hugh Hefner doesn’t live in Belize. Hefner would be quivering in an American Embassy, begging for asylum, with the amount of (consenting adult) seventeen year-olds that have passed through the Playboy Mansion gates.

    It’s easy to look from across the road at the rich guy’s house and wonder, “what’s he doing over there…with all his…riches”. Your imagination flying off the handle. But until you’ve had the opportunity to really try to get to know him, keep your fantastical opinions to yourself.

    I know John McAfee. John McAfee is cool. John McAfee is good. He is not trying to hurt Belize.

  20. ImpartialObserver says:

    Whoever wrote the above press release for the police had nothing but baseless, unfounded accusations to make. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. The only wrongdoing mentioned is “alleged antibiotic apparently being manufactured” Alleged by who? By the bent cops of course. If those analysts and personnel from the Ministry of Health that they took to the site had actually identified any antibiotics, don’t you think charges would have been laid and the press release would be full of them?

    No, the raid sounds like illegal bullying and intimidation. And the press release is just innuendo and suggestion without a single criminal fact to back it up. Even the missing gun licence was because of a police bungle.

    Must have been hard work for the writer to make it sound as if the people at the house were criminals when all the actual criminal acts were committed by the GSU, the B.D.F. and the (B-SAG).

    Wow Belize! What a disgrace. It looks like your criminals wear the uniforms and you pay their wages.

  21. rigrat says:

    Personally I cannot believe some of the comments.
    Whilst I personally think it distasteful for a 66 year old man to have a 17 year old girlfriend, it is NOT against the law. The age of sexual consent in Belize is 16 for single people and 14 for married people. (14! Oh my GOD! This is a law that needs a change)
    Secondly, Mr McAfee and his researchers were developing a local made ant-septic. This NOT an antibiotic. The law is very clear on what is an antibiotic, and plant extracts suspended in alcohol is NOT an Antibiotic.
    Thirdly, Mr McAfee had a corporate gun licence and was basically allowed to have as many guns as were on the licence. After the fact, it has been proven that ALL the guns found on the property were in fact legal.
    Mr McAfee hasn’t been released because he is rich, he is released because the Police have NOTHING to charge him with.
    The GSU have arrested people on the basis that they were unlicenced security guards. Well the law actually states that you can have a WATCHMAN or WATCHMEN on your property without having to have a licence.
    Again, the GSU have shown that they are poorly led, poorly advised, poorly trained, and are no better than thugs. They are beginning to resemble Salvadorean Police death squads.
    People need to think carefully about this. Was it really necessary to send 67 heavily armed men, smash down unlocked doors, shoot a family pet, and ransack someone’s house because they thought he might be making antibiotics? Why cannot these members of the Police Farce be deployed where they could do some good?

    Wake up Belize!

  22. John says:

    those guys are on war with Kasper-sky please leave them away

  23. David Kessler says:

    I don’t understand why THREE of the guards were charged with “Providing Security Services without a License” if according to the GSU’s own statement TWO out of FOUR guards were unlicensed.

  24. X says:

    So I can make a new form of LSD or 2-C(whatever) without a licence? Let alone have a 17 yr old girlfriend? I don’t care about the consent law, thats probably why he’s there, and having been paying off the police, come on. Wake up, this guy makes crap software and sales it like its gold. I don’t know about you but if that happened in America he would be deeply sad, moreso than he is now.

  25. lester bell says:

    Look on the Web and you will see that the age of consent in Belize
    is 16 years old so why are they making a big deal out of this?

  26. lester bell says:

    Look on the Web and you will see that the age of consent in Belize
    is 16 years old so why are they making a big deal out of this?

  27. FJones says:

    Another race-mixing antivirus walking virus pervert. Welcome to the ranks of Peter “I !@#$ ……..” Norton.

  28. Comfortable in the US says:

    A person would have to be insane to move to Belize! I agree with other comments… Belize has no real future because the people seem to be willing to drink the cool-aid.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login