San Ignacio Police uncovered a stash of four assault rifles along with a live grenade when they raided a house in Esperanza Village in the Cayo District. The house was located on a remote farm and police say it was occupied by Gary Seawell, 33, who listed his address as Esperanza Village, along with Tanisha Ayuso and four children.
The hand grenade is believed to be of British origin, but police are awaiting confirmation from the Belize Defence
Force Bomb Expert. But the stash of assault rifles needed no verification; it consisted of a .45 automatic machine gun, a bolt action rifle, an M4 Cabrine pistol with two magazines, and an M16 rifle. There were also an assortment of ammunition, a bullet proof vest, and 316.1 grams of suspected marijuana.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gary Seawell in on February 15, 2007 based on an extradition request from Cleveland, Ohio where Gary Seawell along with his brothers Mark and Duane are wanted to stand trial for drug trafficking and money laundering. Police allege that the three brothers used couriers to traffic 163 pounds of cocaine from Chetumal to Cleveland, Ohio. The couriers allegedly transported the drugs in their shoes. The money laundering charge was for allegedly transferring more than US$1 million of their profits to Belize via wire transfer.
Duane Seawell was intercepted by American Police in February of 2007 while transiting back to Belize through the Miami International Airport after he was expelled from Jamaica. In October of 2007, he appeared in an Ohio Court where he pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine in the United States. Duane Seawell was subsequently sentenced to 17 years in a US jail. His brother Mark Seawell has been fighting extradition. His attorney Elson Kaseke wrote to then Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay in April of 2007 asking the Government of Belize to demand the return of Duane Seawell before agreeing to extradite Mark Seawell. Kaseke’s argument was that the US government breached the Extradition Treaty when it intercepted Duane Seawell at the Miami International Airport. His hearing, it seems, has stalled.
Gary Seawell will be charged for the firearm, ammunition, and drug charges after which he will likely face extradition.
