Gang Underboss and Two Associates Remanded for Drugs and Weapons

On Wednesday night, we told you about an operation carried out by the Special Patrol Unit on an island off the coast of Belize City.  The organized action of the Belize Police Department to locate several gang members who fled from the Lake Independence area amid a state of emergency turned up more than just three men on Saint George’s Caye.  S.P.U. personnel also discovered a quantity of illegal drugs, as well as a cache of high caliber weapons.  This morning around nine o’clock, Edwin “Drive” Flowers, Gaston Barrow, and Kenyon Dominguez were escorted to the magistrate’s court after being taken into custody overnight.  The trio, including Flowers, who is a ranking member of the Peace in the Village gang, is accused of having in its possession over twelve thousand grams of cannabis, two thousand, three hundred grams of cocaine, three high-powered rifles and two handguns.  The men appeared unrepresented before a senior magistrate where they were charged jointly with two counts of possession of firearm and kept ammunition, as well as four counts of drug-related charges.  Due to the nature of the offenses, bail was denied and Flowers, Barrow, and Dominguez were transported to the Belize Central Prison.  However, prior to being taken away, Flowers sought permission to address the court and inquired how quickly a trial date can be scheduled for the pending matter.  He was informed that the prosecution must first produce a case file which will be provided to them as part of the disclosure before a trial date is set.  The men are on remand until July twenty-second when they will return to court.