A group of 14 Jamaicans have been deported Belize on suspicions that they plan to use the country as a gateway to Mexico and then onto the United States.

They were held and deported on the weekend by the authorities in Belize, having been kept in detention for one week. The group comprise 11 adults and three children

The adults were brought to court last Friday on a charge of willfully supplying false declarations to an immigration officer. However, the charge was subsequently dropped after the Jamaicans indicated that they were willing to return home.

The authorities in Belize report that on the night of November 10, the Jamaicans were intercepted near San Pedro Village, in Corozal, a few miles from the Mexican border. They were spotted by the police in the back of a pick-up truck.

When the police stopped the truck, the driver ran into bushes, leaving the Jamaicans to fend for themselves. They were detained after indicating on immigration forms that they had itineraries for rooms at different hotels in Belize and at the cayes.

However, checks by the Belizean authorities revealed information contrary to what they said.