Attorney Tiffany Cadle Challenges Customs Checkpoint After Highway Chase

Attorney Tiffany Cadle is challenging what she calls an illegal customs checkpoint and an overreach of authority that led to a high-speed chase on the Philip Goldson Highway. In a Facebook Live video that quickly went viral, Cadle accused customs officers of acting without ‘reasonable suspicion’ and violating her constitutional right to freedom of movement.

Cadle told News Five that customs officers chased her from Sandhill Village after she drove past a checkpoint she described as “illegal”. She said the officers had no reasonable suspicion to stop her, and therefore, she would not allow a search of her vehicle.

According to Section 91 of the Customs Regulations, a customs officer may “for the prevention of smuggling upon reasonable suspicion to stop and examine any cart, wagon or carriage for the purpose of ascertaining whether any smuggled, prohibited or forfeited goods are contained therein.”

“Last night, there was no police present, no police officer I can identify by any uniform,” Cadle said. “Across there was a BDF vehicle. A customs officer was on the side on the phone…I drove through. About five minutes after that, I saw lights.” 

By the time she reached Belize City, police blocked her SUV with rifles drawn. Cadle recalled asking officers if they had probable cause to search her vehicle. “They said no,” Cadle said. A female officer eventually searched the SUV, finding only a black cake and bottles of rum popo.

Cadle said that her constitutional rights were violated. “We have freedom of movement in this country,” she said. “What reasonable suspicion can you possibly have in Sandhill to question me and examine my vehicle?”

The Customs and Excise Department defended the operation in a press release today, stating that officers were part of a joint task force with the Belize Police Department, Belize Defence Force, Belize Coast Guard, and the Immigration Department. The department said its powers extend beyond ports of entry and urged the public to cooperate with all checkpoints.

Cadle said she plans to write to the department for a formal explanation and intends to file a lawsuit, claiming the officers endangered her and her mother by cutting them off on the highway and using high beams.