American Journalist Fined for Declaring Marijuana at Belize’s Philip Goldson Airport

An American journalist was arrested, charged and fined at the Philip Goldson International Airport after declaring a bag of marijuana to the Customs officer.  49-year-old, Roderick Hilbert Boone had just come off a Delta flight from Atlanta, Georgia and was being processed when he was asked if he had anything to declare.  He produced a plastic bag with weed to the officer which was taken from him and weighed.  According to the authorities, the drug weighed 22 grams, and according to Boone, he was pretty sure it had only 13 grams.  Either weight would have been deemed illegal since Belize had only decriminalized up to ten grams.  Boone was taken to the Ladyville Police Station where he was charged with the importation of a controlled drug.  The journalist was arraigned in court today and was fined two thousand dollars plus the cost of court which he has to pay by Wednesday or spend a year in prison.  During the court proceedings, Boone told the magistrate that he was sure that he had 13 grams in the bag because he thought that was the legal limit in Belize.  Not prepared to drag the matter out any further, Boone pleaded guilty.  In assuring the court that he would pay the fine, he indicated to the magistrate that he will be moving to Belize shortly as he had recently purchased a property in Hopkins Village, Stann Creek District.  Following today’s court proceedings, Boone traveled south where he will be vacationing with his wife.