BELIZE – An immigration officer is due to return to court on November 8 accused of extorting US$3,000 from a Jamaican traveller. The court was told that on March 15, this year, Monique Escalante, 31, demanded the money from the Jamaican national, Janhoi Richards, while he was at the Philip Goldson International Airport.

Police say that they have sufficient evidence to ensure a conviction, but Escalante’s previous attorney, Audrey Matura, had claimed that her client was innocent, and her arrest was a scapegoat for the corruption of senior immigration officers. Escalante, is being represented now by Attorney Leslie Hamilton. The matter has been adjourned to November 8, when the preliminary inquiry will begin. She was not called upon to plead. (Loopnews.caribbean.com)…[+]