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Tonight, we have more leaked screenshots showing another pattern of structured payments from the Ministry of Defence to a high-volume supplier. But this time it's not a company owned or operated by members of the Mira family - but it is the same Ministry and the same pattern of payments hovering under that one thousand dollar threshold to escape Ministry of Finance oversight. Jules Vasquez reports:
Tropicana is a popular footwear and clothing store in downtown Belize City. Formerly known as Gaylord's, its website boasts that it is a male fashion store established 40 years ago. It is owned by the Hotchandani family, a well known name in downtown retail clothing.
Smart Stream leaks received by 7News show that in February 2022, Tropicana was the beneficiary of a single-day windfall: 19 payments of $9,476.65 each, totaling just over $180,000.
They used the exact same invoice number for the entire run of payments - merely tacking on a hyphen and a trailing number to enter the clones.
The current CEO, who was not there in 2022, could not specify what the payments were for but he said the company did supply uniform items in the past.
Such supply contracts are usually awarded after a published tender notice, and a selection process to choose a successful bidder. A contract is then sent to the Contractor General for approval. Once approved, the contract is signed, and an invoice is issued for a 50% down payment, which is then paid by the Ministry of Defence with the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
Former suppliers tell us that's standard operating procedure - but in this case - with this succession of sub-$10,000 payments-it's difficult to say what happened.
But could this have been an attempt to undermine procurement procedures and bypass the Contractor General, who must approve all contracts over $50,000?
A formal inquiry from an aggrieved supplier's attorney regarding a uniform contract yielded a damning admission from the Contractor General. The CG bluntly concluded: 'This matter was executed without the certification of review by the Office of the Contractor General.'
We only received leaks of two months of payments to Tropicana, which is a well-connected, high-volume, high-value supplier to the government. The 56 total invoices we saw total $247,353.72. All payments were below $10,000 and were made on behalf of 11 Government entities.
Speaking generally about these sub ten thousand dollars payments, the Fin Sec says something's amiss - here's what he told X News
Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary "Clearly, there's a breakdown in the system. It wasn't intended to work this way. It takes, in our system, there are levels of approvals, depending on the amount of money. From what we see, that there was a deliberate effort to fragment payments, break them down to below. But I'll wait to see what the audit reveals. But sure enough, certainly it doesn't look good. And in my view, I think what happened is that either somebody dropped a ball, fell asleep, or worse, that they moved together on it."
We did speak to Arun Hotchandani, the business owner's husband. He said he was traveling and would have a comment for us in a few days.
And going back to the Mira family business, yesterday the Prime Minister expressed disbelief that there were at least over a thousand payments under $10,000 from the Ministry of Defence to businesses owned by Mira family members. Here's how he reacted when we asked about it:
Reporter "With the Ministry of Defence, we saw over a thousand payments below $10,000. A thousand payments?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister "A thousand transactions. A thousand transactions....certainly um."
From the Smart Stream screenshots leaked to us - which show only a portion of the payments - between 2020 and 2026 there were 1,204 payments under $10,000.
By hovering beneath the $10,000 threshold, the payments did not require oversight from the Ministry of Finance. Of the hundreds of rows of entries we have reviewed, less than 5 payments to the Ministry of Defence were above $10,000. There are still at least 400 ledger entries for Mira family companies which have not been leaked, so the total number of payments will be greater.
So far, from the screenshot leaks we have seen, the Ministry of Defence purchased rations for the BDF and Coast Guard from Mira's Fruits and Veggies, MP Farms and Stanley Mira.
But the commissioner says that does not extend to air conditioning repair services for the Police Department - which rumors suggested might be provided by a Mira family business.
The commissioner deflected that today:
JO: "Did Mr. Mira at any time instruct the Police Department to acquire AC servicing and installation services from his brother, Cyrus, or FT Williams?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "I can say that at no time did the minister or anyone instruct the Police Department to purchase from any supplier."
JO: "Did the Police Department use FT Williams for its air conditioning repair, and is the contract for those services based on receiving multiple estimates from other service providers?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "The way the Police Department is structured, we have the accounting officer, which is the CEO. The CEO then, then delegates authority to myself and my four deputies. My four deputies oversee the different units that fall under them; they have different suppliers. We do not-I do not know the specific suppliers that each one would engage in. We have a number of suppliers that have worked with the Belize Police Department."
And while the Compol resisted that Mira connection - tonight he's talking about the cyber bullying investigation into Alberto August.
We asked if the PM was the one who instructed for the release of Alberto August. Here's how Rosado answered us.
JO: "When Alberto August was arrested, did the directive for his release come directly from the Prime Minister?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Man, sometimes I don't know where you are get your information from. Since I assumed tenure ship as the Commissioner of Police, no politician has ever called me to ask for a favor. But what I will say, that in terms of the matter is before the court with Alberto August, so I don't want to discuss the details, but the public need to understand that while they have a right to freedom of speech, including political discourse and political commentaries or even criticism of policy, there is a legal threshold. When you intentionally use social media to demean, to humiliate, or the spread false information, those conduit do not constitute protected speech, and it is liable to-or maybe held for-criminal liability for those individuals."
Reporter: "However, did the Police Department seek advice after the fact-meaning after the arrest-in the case of Alberto August, and sough internal legal advice only?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "The Police Department has an entire team of legal advisors that whenever we have incidents that require them to seek advice, they seek from our team of legal advisors that are posted within the Police Department."
Reporter: "Shouldn't it be the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions? To direct whether the department should pursue a charge in the first place?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "There are certain criminal offenses that the law requires us to consult the DPP. Other than that, once there is a necessity, we seek guidance from legal advisors within the department."
"I am confident that an offense was committed, and I am confident that the Police Department will have a successful prosecution."
Police have kept possession of August's two phones - and as we told you last week - they even planned to go to court to get a warrant to search them. When we asked the commissioner he claims that they haven't unlocked his phones as yet:
Reporter: "So, is there any truth to the Police Department trying to into, or get access to the records on Mr. August's phone?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Please appreciate that there is certain protocols, certain procedures the investigator must follow whenever they are investigating crimes that involve digital evidence."
Reporter: "But you all had access to his phones, correct? But is it that you could not get into them? Because what he is alleging is that you are using technology to access his phone remotely."
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Sometimes I wonder where the media gets those-"
Reporter: "That is an allegation, his claims-that is what he posted on Facebook, so we got it from Mr. August."
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Let me say this: we have one specialized unit within the Police Department that is in Belize City that have a licensed and operational Cellebrite that is used to extract an analyze digital evidence. However, before we access any device, we must seek the warrant from the court, and that process is being applied for us to get the warrant in order for us to get the necessary extraction analysis to be done."
Reporter: "So, is there nothing questionable in the fact that one police officer pursued the complaint from Minister Mira, and it is that same officer being pointed to in terms of accessing his phone that is the investigating officer?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "The investigating officer is the person who is applying for the court to grant the warrant for them to access the device."
It's been a few weeks now since the LIU program was put on pause and its members have stopped receiving a stipend. The then minister of home affairs Mira had told us that the program had not stopped and they were simply conducting a review, but when we had asked the prime minister he told us that the LIU was never intended to be used as a long term employment program, and that the 3 million annually being used to support the program could be funneled elsewhere.
We followed up with the commissioner today for an update on the program and he says that the assessment is still underway.
Jomarie Lanza: "You were one of the architects for the LIU program. Now that it has been put on pause, are you guys prepared that these youths may choose to retaliate against the state?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "You would have to appreciate that social intervention programs must be based on evidence. And under Mr. Mira's tender, tenure, or tenureship, certain feedback we recited required us to do assessment of the social intervention programs and based-or based on, determining whether they actually have an impact. We-I believe that by doing an assessment, it gave us the opportunity to show that we are accountable, transparent, and we embrace evidence-based approach, and we embrace continuous improvement. So it gives us an opportunity to make a thorough assessment to be done."
Reporter: "When did the assessment start and when will it conclude? And will those results be made public, as it is youth from our own society who are beneficiaries?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Please appreciate that only one or two programs is currently under assessment or on a pause-temporarily on pause. The then minister, Minister Mira, and CEO and I, we sat with the director of the LIU; the minister explained his position to him."
"To the director, they were given a month or two notice to inform individuals on the ground of the programs that will go under assessment. So there were ample times for us to do the necessary adjustment, and everybody involved knew about the adjustment or assessment that was being made."
"The assessment is in the process of wrapping up, but we do recognize that whatever social intervention program we implement, there must be meaningful behavioral change, and hence the reason for the assessment of certain programs."
And surely the new Minister of Home Affairs will definitely want to have input on restoring the LIU.
We also asked Rosado whether or not he has met with his new minister as yet:
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Well, our meeting is scheduled for this afternoon, but I had a brief discussion with him, and I believe he brings a fresh perspective to policing. His perspective would be able to challenge our assumption and create better strategies for us within the Police Department. I gather that he supports a more balanced approach in policing-one that encompasses combining effective policing, targeted social intervention program, and I do support that initiative because it will be able to allow us to suppress crime today and prevent it from happening tomorrow."
"I believe the leadership within the Police Department, whoever is the minister, we will work along with them, and I believe they will all bring a fresh perspective that will challenge our assumptions in how we on policing."
The Minister Julius whom Rosado will meet won't be the same politician we've gotten to know since he was first elected 12 years ago.
The Julius Espat who once sat on the Opposition's bench was fiery, passionate, righteous and hot-headed.
But the Espat we spoke to on Monday didn't seem to have that same fire.
In a political analysis, Courtney Menzies looked at some of Espat's more controversial moments. Here is that story.
It's been two days since Julius Espat was made Minister of Home Affairs - and let's just say he seems less-than-excited about it. In fact, he admitted that he didn't pursue the difficult portfolio:
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs "It's not something I wanted, it's not something I dreamt of but I'm a team player."
And his demeanor in that interview - low key, battle-weary, and almost resigned - is a far cry from the firebrand Julius Espat we used to know, back when he was in the opposition. He was punching walls like an angry Sampson and calling out members of his own party. In 2016 he had to be forcibly carried out of the House of Representatives by the police, the same police he is now the minister of:
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs "Well it's the first time I've gotten beaten up by the police, god damn. All I was doing was trying to explain the level of corruption that this country is experiencing and they beat me up."
"The Belizean people have to understand that I am not fighting for Julius Espat I am not even fighting for the PUP, I'm fighting for the people who put me here."
And even after that, he walked out of the House again a year later.
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister "Madam I take offense that he should accuse you of being undemocratic."
Jules Vasquez "You're walking out again."
Julius Espat "Yes."
His party didn't follow him that time, but he also wasn't afraid to go against them.
Julius Espat "The leadership of the party decided that they wanted to do it in their way so I humbly said let's try it out, I will not fight you, I will just observe and I observed."
Jules Vasquez: "Also known as my way or the high way. You are not a team player Julius."
Julius Espat "They are trying the same method over and over again and expecting a different result."
Julius Espat "The PUP are using bench players right now to make the decision for the party. The People's United Party have the greatest warriors that this country has ever produced - they have them on the sidelines and they have bench players right now taking the lead."
And one of the things that made Julius Espat entertaining in the House was his acerbic wit and dogged persistence:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister "My pronouncement is that you are bi-polar, there is something wrong with you. You are Schizophrenia or..."
Hon. Julius Espat, PUP Cayo South "Madam Speaker, in anywhere in my presentation did I insult the Prime Minister as he is doing me. This is the Prime Minister of a country that goes down to the gutter, he should be ashamed."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister "I should be ashamed and you should be taking medication, because I am telling you there is something wrong with you."
Hon. Julius Espat, PUP Cayo South "Madam Speaker, the only person that on record in this house that takes medication is the Prime Minister and you know more than anybody else the medication for back pain affects your mind."
But has that fire that he had in the opposition died out now that he's in the government? Well, unlike before, this time he says he's a team player:
Julius Espat, Minister of Home Affairs "We are in the arena, we made a decision and commitment to serve and that comes with positive and that comes with negative and if the leader of the country and the leader of the party believes that he needs assistance then we are team players. And therefore there is no way we can say no, well we can say no but I didn't."
Today, Eliseo Alonzo became the most recent victim of a fatal road traffic accident. It happened on the Hummingbird Highway near Agua Viva village at mile 48. Reports suggests that Alonzo lost control of the vehicle and was flung out the passenger window, causing him to crash to the pavement and succumb to his injuries. Investigation is ongoing.
27 year old BDF soldier Alexander Frederick Reynolds has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being charged with attempted murder of Police constable Pharon Muslar.
This comes after a violent confrontation at a repast in Lemonal Village that left both men seriously injured.
Reynolds showed up unrepresented before the Belize City Magistrate's Court this morning, where he was formally charged with attempted murder, dangerous harm, and use of deadly means of harm in connection with the shooting of PC Muslar.
Reynolds informed the court that he had sustained chop wounds during the incident.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Monday during a repast in Lemonal Village. An argument between Reynolds and Muslar escalated into a physical confrontation, during which Reynolds allegedly pulled out a 9mm pistol and fired at Muslar, striking him in the chest and shoulder. Muslar reportedly retaliated by chopping Reynolds with a machete.
Due to the alleged use of a firearm, bail was denied. Reynolds was remanded to the Belize Central Prison and is scheduled to return to court on August 19, 2026.
In early April Police made a record marijuana drug bust in Lords Bank seizing over a thousand pounds of weed with a street value of 1.6 million.
An impressive seizure but still no arrests have been made. Many have suggested that the police moved too hastily to make the bust and should have waited for the owner of the drugs to show up.
We asked the commissioner for an update on the case today.
Reporter: "The Lords Bank drug bust-one of the biggest ever, but no arrests. Did police move too fast?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Not necessarily. And we are following that investigation closely, and I believe we should have an arrest shortly."
And while we wait for those arrests, the police still have yet to charge anyone in connection to the number of missing persons whose disappearances are still unsolved. That concludes including Bree Arthurs and Lidani Martinez who have been missing, feared dead for 82 days, and a mother and son who recently went missing in Pomona village.
Here's how Rosado responded:
Dr. Richard Rosado: "I want to say that in terms of missing persons, the Police Department has been following all leads, and whenever leads come up, we continue to follow them, but we are doing all that is possible to locate these individuals."
We also asked the Compol about the status of one of his officers after a video emerged of him being beaten in the street by another cop.
It happened over the weekend outside a club in Dangriga.
Rosado gave his version of what occurred.
Jomarie Lanza: "We recently saw a video where Corporal Candice Mortis was being lashed by Sergeant Salam in the street. What is the story behind this?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Well, I was made to understand there was some altercation at the establishment, and to-from what I view, I do believe that the police did use excessive force, hence the reason he was arrested and charged."
Sergeant Salam has been charged but there are other videos which show that the Corporal named Mortis - who was in plainclothes - may have initiated the hostilities with Salam when he didn't seem to want to pay to enter a local club.
And while one officer has been charged, another has been promoted despite being caught on camera abusing a female. According to Rosado the victim decided not to pursue prosecution and so - even though the abuse was caught on camera - it did not affect this officer's promotional status.
Jomarie Lanza: "Would you be able to discuss then the promotion of Corporal Wilbert Coc-who was caught on camera choking a woman-why did you approve a transfer when you have said it's zero tolerance for that kind of behavior?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Please appreciate that the protocol or the policy for the Police Department is to arrest the perpetrator once a report is made. We cannot compel a victim to make or to pursue prosecution, and in this case, as I was briefed, that the victim asked us to respect her decision and that she will seek, in terms of-she will seek counseling, instead of-family counseling instead of pursuing protection. Hence, there was no legal impediment preventing Coc from being promoted, or the officer from being promoted."
Jomarie Lanza: "Can you comment on the number of promotions that have been approved for officers who, it is said, did not even sit the promotional exams?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Sometimes you have to stop listening to stupidity. There is a process that is regulated within the Police Act on how the promotion is done, or how promotions are done. It is initiated when an application are sent out, or acceptance of a application are accepted by the department. A vetting committee vets those applications, and they are then shortlisted. And after they are shortlisted, they then move onto the promotional exam. Those who pass the promotional exam, they then-those applicants are then shortlisted, they go before the promotional board. So there is an entire process that is legislated in the Police Act."
And finally from the Compol - who did talk to the press for about 20 minutes today - we asked him about an insulting comment made abotu him during the UDP's recent press conference, where Chairlady Sheena Pitts compared his appearance to that of a children's cartoon character - Caillou. We asked Rosado about it today and here's how he reacted.
Jomarie Lanza: "How did it make you feel when Sheena Pitts called you Caillou?"
Dr. Richard Rosado: "Honestly, I am not sure if I should comment on that, but let me say this: I was appointed as the Commissioner of Police to lead the brave men and women of the Belize Police Department and to ensure the safety and security of the citizen, not to engage in political theater. Some people might prefer to engage in personal attacks; I choose to remain focused on the mandate that was given to me."
And, changing gears now, according to the Statistical Institute of Belize, the unemployment rate in April 2025 was down by .2 points, going from 2.1% to 1.9.
As statistician Aronelle Wade explained, this refers to those who are actively looking for work. However, she also explained that almost half the working age population were outside of the workforce.
Aronelle Wade, Statistician II "The unemployed are defined as persons of working age who were without work but available to start work within the next two weeks and actively looking for work within the last 4 weeks. Thus, in April 2026, the unemployment rate stood at 1.9%."
"In April 2026 almost 3/5s of the employed population were males and over half of employed persons were age 25-44 years old. 36.5% had completed primary school education, 27.5% had completed secondary level education while 21.7% had completed tertiary level education. Of the employed population 72% were employees while 26.1% were self employed."
"In April 2026, 46.0% of the working age population were outside the labor force with women account for over 60%. 30.6% were youths, and 34.7% were age 55 and older. Over half had never worked, more than 3/4 relied on family support for finances and almost half stopped working due to retirement or being too old."
The SIB also reported that the economy grew a surprising 5.1% in the first quarter. Statistician Christopher Hulse explained what contributed to that.
Christopher Hulse, Statistician II "The first quarter which is January to March 2026, we saw that goods and services produced within that time totaled 1.54 billion dollars which is an increase of 70.8 million or 5.1% when we compare it to that same time period in 2025."
"In the primary sector, goods totaled 145.8 million which is a 5% increase and the key drivers within that sector was agriculture. Going into the secondary sectors, good totaling 200.3 million dollars, an increase of 8.3% and within that sector the key drivers were manufacturing and construction. And then the last sector, tertiary, totaled 918.2 million dollars, an increase of 3.1% and the key drivers within that sector was financial and insurance activities and wholesale and retail trade. And lastly taxes totaled 189.6 million dollars, a 12.3% increase."
And the rise in fuel drove a sharp increase in consumer prices. In the first five months of 2025, consumer prices rose by 4.3%. Statistician Jaime Crespo spoke more about it.
Jaime Crespo, Statistician II "Inflation was at 2.8% in May 2021 and then it rose sharply to a peak of 7.4% in mid 2022. Since then inflation generally trended downward throughout 2023 to 2025 however during the first 5 months in 2026, inflation went up and currently stands at 4.3% in May of this year. Turning to the graft on the right, the all items CPI increased from 103.1 in May 2021 to 124.8 in May 2026. This upward trend indicates that consumer prices have continued to rise over the past 5 years. The steepest increase occurred between 2021 and 2022 while from 2023 - 2026 prices continued to increase at a slower pace."
"For the first 5 months in 2026 when compared to the same period in 2025 the cost of goods and services purchased by households increased by 2% on average. This was mainly due to an increase in almost all of the major CPI categories."
"First we have the transport category with prices increasing by 3.5%, this was mainly due to a rise in the cost of all types of motor vehicle fuels. The price per gallon for regular went up by 7.1%, for premium, it went up by 2.2% and for diesel it went up by 11.1%."
"And lastly lets look at the housing, water electricity, gas and other fuels category with prices increasing by 1.5%. This was mainly due to a rise in the cost of electricity which was implemented at the start of the year."
Notably, consumer confidence went down 6.2% in May 2026.
And finally coming out of today's SIB press conference, imports were up by 22.8% while exports dropped by 29.5% in May 2026. Statistician Ronald Orellana explained more.
Ronald Orellana, Statistician II "Imports in 2026 reached a record high for this period extended the steady upward trend that has been evident since imports declined in 2020."
"The total merchandise imports for the first five months of the yea amounted to $1.375 billion, up 18.7% o 216.4 million dollars when compared to imports to the first five months of 2025."
"The total domestic exports for the first five months of 2026 amounted to $140.6 million, presenting a decrease of 13.5% or 21.9 million compared to the same period in 2025."
Our next story is about the Belize Food Heritage Project, an initiative to document and safeguard Belize's diverse culinary traditions against globalization, urbanization, and climate change.
Today at the Government House, participants learned about traditional Belizean cultural dishes, their origins, and the importance of preserving the recipes. Jaleeza Roberts was there and took a taste of what this project is all about:
The next workshop will be in San Ignacio.
More SmartStream Leaks Point To The Same Pattern At Another Company With Mira Link
At the top of the news we told you about the latest Smart Stream leaks from the Ministry of Defence for a company named Tropicana - which is not owned by any family member of the Mira clan.
But, just before news time - we got another set of data leaks for a firm to the Mira family. Area Rep Oscar's brother, Keith, is listed as an engineer at the firm.
It's called FAST Construction & Road Development Ltd.. a sister company of FT Williams which specializes in construction and road development.
The company has qualified for a number of high value projects with large contracts.
The 10 screenshots and 120 invoice entries we have seen mostly follow the same pattern: over 100 payments were under the $10,000 threshold and only 12 invoices were above $10,000. So, basically, 90% of all payouts to this vendor were kept under the $10,000.00 approval limit.
And again, in the data we have seen, the Ministry of Defence processed almost all of the payments.
We'll have a closer look in tomorrow's news.
Cops Celebrate Kids Who Did The Right Thing
And, finally tonight, 33 students from all across Belize were recognized under the Belize Police Department's "Du di Raiit Ting" program. They were nominated by their teachers for maintaining their grades and inspiring others by their example. Jomarie Lanza has this report.
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Tonight, we have more leaked screenshots showing another pattern of structured payments from the Ministry of Defence to a high-volume supplier. But this time it's not a company owned or operated by members of the Mira family - but it is the same Ministry and the same pattern of payments hovering under that one thousand dollar threshold to escape Ministry of Finance oversight. Jules Vasquez reports:
Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary 
And going back to the Mira family business, yesterday the Prime Minister expressed disbelief that there were at least over a thousand payments under $10,000 from the Ministry of Defence to businesses owned by Mira family members. Here's how he reacted when we asked about it:
"A thousand transactions. A thousand transactions....certainly um."
Dr. Richard Rosado: 
And while the Compol resisted that Mira connection - tonight he's talking about the cyber bullying investigation into Alberto August.
We asked if the PM was the one who instructed for the release of Alberto August. Here's how Rosado answered us.
And surely the new Minister of Home Affairs will definitely want to have input on restoring the LIU.
The Minister Julius whom Rosado will meet won't be the same politician we've gotten to know since he was first elected 12 years ago.
"Well it's the first time I've gotten beaten up by the police, god damn. All I was doing was trying to explain the level of corruption that this country is experiencing and they beat me up."
Julius Espat
"The PUP are using bench players right now to make the decision for the party. The People's United Party have the greatest warriors that this country has ever produced - they have them on the sidelines and they have bench players right now taking the lead."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
Hon. Julius Espat, PUP Cayo South
Today, Eliseo Alonzo became the most recent victim of a fatal road traffic accident. It happened on the Hummingbird Highway near Agua Viva village at mile 48. Reports suggests that Alonzo lost control of the vehicle and was flung out the passenger window, causing him to crash to the pavement and succumb to his injuries. Investigation is ongoing.
27 year old BDF soldier Alexander Frederick Reynolds has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being charged with attempted murder of Police constable Pharon Muslar.
In early April Police made a record marijuana drug bust in Lords Bank seizing over a thousand pounds of weed with a street value of 1.6 million.
We also asked the Compol about the status of one of his officers after a video emerged of him being beaten in the street by another cop.
Aronelle Wade, Statistician II 
"The first quarter which is January to March 2026, we saw that goods and services produced within that time totaled 1.54 billion dollars which is an increase of 70.8 million or 5.1% when we compare it to that same time period in 2025."
"Inflation was at 2.8% in May 2021 and then it rose sharply to a peak of 7.4% in mid 2022. Since then inflation generally trended downward throughout 2023 to 2025 however during the first 5 months in 2026, inflation went up and currently stands at 4.3% in May of this year. Turning to the graft on the right, the all items CPI increased from 103.1 in May 2021 to 124.8 in May 2026. This upward trend indicates that consumer prices have continued to rise over the past 5 years. The steepest increase occurred between 2021 and 2022 while from 2023 - 2026 prices continued to increase at a slower pace."
"Imports in 2026 reached a record high for this period extended the steady upward trend that has been evident since imports declined in 2020."
At the top of the news we told you about the latest Smart Stream leaks from the Ministry of Defence for a company named Tropicana - which is not owned by any family member of the Mira clan.
