June 28th 2016, 11:43 a.m
By Aaron Humes: Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie and Head of Special Branch Superintendent Marco Vidal say they are satisfied that the operation conducted a week ago Monday against the Ahmad family in Hattieville was done, in their view, “within the confines of the law and in a professional manner.”
But as to the nature of the raid and investigation, Supt. Vidal would only say that his unit has been investigating information “of a serious nature”, the details of which he would not give, and that this essentially led to the searches done at the homes of six related families.
Concerning possible legal challenges to the raid, both Supt. Vidal and CoP Whylie are confident that police can defend themselves if need be.
Was the investigation related to terrorism? And did police specifically target the Ahmad family for religious or ethnic reasons? Vidal says no, adding that generally speaking there are no confirmed reports of Islamic State involvement in Belize. He allowed that since Caribbean nationals have been recruited by Islamic State, “we cannot be naïve to the fact that it can happen here in Belize or it could happen here in Belize.”
Supt. Vidal made clear he was only responding because specific allegations were made that needed to be refuted.
ComPol Whylie announced that the electronic items has been returned to the family.
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