Local News

Yesterday it was reported that three men, two Belizeans and an American national were caught up in an operation targeting alleged Hezbollah members over the weekend in the Mexican city of Mérida. The high profile case has engaged Mexican and Belizean law enforcement authorities at the local and diplomatic levels. Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of National Security Delroy Cuthkelvin told Love News the matter is now a criminal matter.

DELROY CUTHKELVIN

Public Relations Officer

Ministry of National Security

“At this stage the matter has been turned over to the Criminal Investigation Branch.  There are some preliminary things that have been established and other things that we are trying to establish.  First of all, in terms of the American national that was referred to in the Mexican press as a person of Arab origin, Mideastern origin/descent.  We have established that the name which he was carrying the Belize passport in which is William Dueck, that name is the name of a person who was actually born in Shipyard; born to parents who are David Dueck and Judith Dueck as indicated on the birth certificate that he was also carrying because he was also carrying a birth certificate in that same name and he was also carrying a driver’s license in that same name, William Dueck which clearly was not his name.  So there are a few things we have been trying to establish:  first of all, whether in fact those documents in question, the passport, the birth certificate and the driver’s license – whether those documents were officially issued by all relevant authorities because then that would suggest that there is, at worst, some serious negligence at those offices, at best.  So we have been able to establish: 1) that the birth certificate he was carrying was a birth certificate that was obtained from the Vital Statistics Office and that in fact the name he was carrying it in is the name of a person that was indeed born in Shipyard to parents that were named in the birth certificate but all three persons are deceased.  The person himself, Wilhem Dueck died at the age of two months and the mother and the father died about twenty, twenty five years ago; one about twenty years, the other about twenty five years ago.  Secondly, we have been able to establish that in fact, an application was made at the Passport Office in Belize City by a person posing as Wilhem Dueck, carrying this birth certificate.  That application was made on the 29^th August, 2012 – he paid a fee of a hundred dollars for an urgent issuance and the passport was issued the following day, the 30^th August, 2012.  That was determined by the Senior Immigration Officer who went to the computers at the Passport Office with personnel from the Police Department and they were able to establish this.  Now what they are trying to do is to locate the physical application, the physical hard copy of the application that was made. Again, in the case of the Passport Office as well as in the case of the Vital Statistics Office, there are questions our Police authorities are asking about the entire process because this particular instance might reveal, might have exposed some weaknesses in the system, so all of that is being looked at.  The physical, as we speak, both at the Passport Office and at the Vital Statistics Office, they have not yet been able to furnish the Police with physical copies of the actual applications made.”

Cuthkelvin said the Justice of the peace who signed the passport form is being questioned by authorities. He said contrary to reports, there are indications that the person in question did enter Belize to get the documents.

DELROY CUTHKELVIN

Public Relations Officer

Ministry of National Security

“When you apply for a passport, it’s not like what it used to be; when you apply for a passport now you have to physically appear at the office and a picture is taken.  The computer files at the Passport Office has indeed established that there was a person who came to the office, applied for a passport carrying this particular birth certificate in the name of Wilem Dueck and that a photo was taken which is in the files.  In fact when the Police officers asked the person who the, Senior Immigration Officer, in fact they didn’t even ask – just by looking at the photo on the computer she was able to say that this appears to be a person of Lebanese descent and not a Mennonite.  So these are questions that the people at the Passport Office who accepted the application and processed the application, would have to answer.”

Cuthkelvin told Love News the police have been unable to track down the paper trail involved the acquisition of the passport.

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