By Belize Live News Staff: That instruction is what turned a routine search into a supply charge on Staines Alley Friday afternoon.
Police say the Quick Response Team was on foot patrol around 4pm when officers spotted a man they knew leaving a well known drug base.
They stopped him and began a search. During it, an officer noticed he was holding something in his right hand and told him to open it.
Inside was a transparent bag holding several smaller ziplock bags, blue and clear, each containing a white powdery substance.
At the station they were counted out one by one in his presence. Ten bags in total, weighing 3.61 grams gross.
The quantity and the packaging matter here. Individual bags point to distribution rather than personal use, which is why the charge came back as possession with intent to supply rather than simple possession.
Hilton Lopez, 39, a construction worker of Staines Alley, was charged Friday.
He chose to remain silent.
