Man helps police find his stash, then gets arrested

By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): A San Pedro Town man who candidly directed police to his own stash of suspected cannabis has been formally charged with possession with intent to supply, after the find weighed in at 232.9 grams, nearly a quarter kilogram.

According to the Belize Police Department, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at about 9:30 a.m., a police inspector and a detective went to conduct an apartment search in the Boca Del Rio Area of San Pedro Town. At the third floor apartment of a three-storey building, officers identified themselves to the occupant and informed him that a search would be conducted for firearms, drugs, and ammunition.

The occupant was identified through his driver’s licence as Devan Tristan Paulino, a 25-year-old self-employed resident of the Boca Del Rio Area.

Before the search began, the detective asked Paulino whether he had anything illegal to declare, and his answer was direct: he stated he had some weed in a transparent plastic bag underneath a table beside his bed. Checks under the table produced exactly that, a transparent plastic bag containing wrapped green leafy substance suspected to be cannabis.

Paulino was informed of the offence of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply to another, cautioned, remaining silent, and informed of his constitutional rights. A further search of the apartment found nothing else incriminating, and he was escorted to the San Pedro Police Station with the suspected drugs in his view at all times.

At the station, the process ran by the book. His rights were explained and acknowledged in writing, the scale’s working procedure was explained before the weighing, which registered 232.9 grams in his presence, and the suspected cannabis was sealed in a labelled envelope with evidence tape, signed by Paulino as witness to the sealing and by the inspector.

That same day, police formally arrested and charged Paulino with possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply to another. Cautioned again, he chose to remain silent.

The post Man helps police find his stash, then gets arrested appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.