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Tonight, former government minister Elvin Penner is once again at the center of controversy after reports surfaced that he allegedly removed items from a restricted Belize Defence Force area in the Baldy Beacon region earlier today. Love News understands that throughout this week, the BDF’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, better known as the EOD team, has been conducting a major destruction exercise involving undetonated explosive devices, commonly referred to as UXOs, collected from across the country. The operation was reportedly being carried out in collaboration with officials from the Organization of American States through its Program for the Control of Arms and Ammunition, who were in Belize to witness and assist with the destruction process. Information reaching our newsroom is that today’s operation also involved personnel from the National Fire Service and the Forest Department, who were assisting the BDF in containing and monitoring a fire in the Baldy Beacon area linked to the destruction exercise. It was during that time that Penner became a disruptor, and allegedly entered the secured military zone and removed several items from the area without authorization. Love News spoke with Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security, Major Retired Francis Usher, who explained what authorities understand took place at Baldy Beacon earlier today.
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense and Border Security: “Fast forward to this morning. What happened is that while we were setting up, and yesterday we had the conversation with the stakeholders that, “Hey, we’re 90% of the way done with destroying all of these UXOs.” We would like to destroy all of them while the team from the OAS is here to observe and supervise and provide expert assistance where necessary.”This morning, as we were setting up to continue the destruction and to finalize it our BDF EOD team that had sentries or scouts on the ground one of the scouts picked up that Mr. Penner in his private vehicle had rolled up one of the charging wires and had two blocks of white phosphorus which is a portion of the explosive used and he had it he took it off of where we set it, put it in his personal vehicle and what is the most alarming part is that he put it on a tank of gas which could have been so catastrophic I don’t know how he’s so foolish. I have not personally spoken to him and I don’t think we’ve ascertained what he was trying to do. I don’t know what was going through his head but what I can tell you is that he was definitely literally and figuratively playing with fire and that could have been that could have ended very badly had the BDF team not intervened and stopped him from being a bad actor because that’s what he was being this morning. He was being a bad actor and trying to obstruct us from doing our duties and that could have ended very poorly for him.”
The matter has already triggered concern within national security circles due to the nature of the ongoing military exercise and the restricted status of the area. CEO Usher also told Love News that the matter may now be heading toward a criminal investigation, noting that police consultation is expected shortly as authorities determine what offences may have been committed.
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense and Border Security: “With the report and the evidence that we have, because there is a video of the interaction. There is a video of his personal vehicle with the controlled items and the BDF, the charging wire and the white phosphorus. There’s a video of it showing that these items were inside his truck. I would then defer to our legal counsel as well as the police department to see if there are any charges to be levied on Mr. Penner.”
Reporter: But for clarification, he was not detained in the area.
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense and Border Security: “No, he was not detained.”
Reporter: So did the BDF repossess the items and let him off with a warning? How did that end?
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense and Border Security: “Because we were focusing on two separate missions, the first mission being containing the fire, which requires and continues to require manpower, a lot of human resource. And then we had the manpower, the specialized manpower on the ground to help in the destruction of these UXOs. We put up signs along the way. We do our best. Now, this is a very remote area. If you are there, it’s because it’s deliberate. Very remote. We put signs along the way and we have personnel on the ground looking out. What I was informed is that that he was quite, I don’t want to use the word sneaky, but he got there and he started the process of removing these BDF items from the area for whatever reason I can’t answer, you would have to speak to him, but I can only say, man, I wouldn’t play with these kinds of items like that but that’s his thing. He had the items already, we stopped him in time before a catastrophe could happen.”
The incident has once again thrust Elvin Penner into the national spotlight. Penner, a former Minister of State in the Ministry of Immigration under the previous United Democratic Party administration, became embroiled in one of Belize’s most notorious political scandals in 2013 after allegations surfaced that fraudulent Belizean passports and nationality documents had been issued to foreign nationals. The controversy eventually led to his dismissal from ministerial office and multiple criminal proceedings over the years. Tonight’s reported incident at Baldy Beacon now threatens to add another chapter to Penner’s long history of legal troubles as authorities continue their investigation into the alleged unauthorized removal of items from BDF territory
English (US) ·