By Anastasha Elliot
In the wake of the amnesty declaration on illegal guns, the Police Force announced that seven illegal guns have been confiscated for the year.
According to Superintendent Richardson, these firearms were confiscated through raids, traffic stops, criminal investigation and undercover surveillance.
Richardson also said the guns range from 12 gauge shot guns to small revolvers.
Commissioner of Police, Robert Jeffers, said a joint task force between the Police Force and the Defense Force has been established with the aim of removing illegal firearms off the streets.
“And so far we have had some success,” Jeffers said. He pointed out that the task force has been aggressive in pursuing leads and other intelligence in sniffing out areas where illegal guns and drugs can be confiscated.
Jeffers said the task force will continue to be aggressive, to curb the number of gun-related crimes.
Jeffers also said he fully supports the Deputy Prime Minister’s amnesty declaration for illegal guns that are turned in to the Police.
Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor made the declaration last week.
“In the spirit of reconciliation, peace and goodwill the government will be declaring a period of amnesty for all those who are in possession of illegal firearms which could be turned in without prosecution,” Condor said.
Meanwhile another senior police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said because of the open sea surrounding the Federation, smuggling a gun into the country is not a problem.
“The problem is ammunition,” the senior officer said. “There are so many different types of guns out there that getting the right type of ammunition is a problem for the criminals.”
On Tuesday the Police confiscated more than 12 rounds of magnum ammunition.
The confiscation was a result of a search operation, carried out by the Police in conjunction with the Defence Force, in the Basseterre area.
As a result three male adults of the Taylors Village were arrested and charged with drug and firearm related offences.
Also confiscated were a quantity of cannabis and two pieces of crack cocaine.
Everad Hewlett, Livingston Moore and Terrence Ritchen all of Taylors were all charged with unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of the controlled drug crack cocaine, possession with intent to supply and possession of the controlled drug cannabis.
In a gun related incident, a man was shot in the shoulder during an attempted burglary in a house in Lamberts.
Police said the incident took place last weekend.
Reliable sources said that the burglar also attempted to rape a woman who was in the house.
Commissioner Jeffers said a suspect was arrested earlier this week, but was released due to lack of evidence. However, Jeffers said items from the house have been sent to Jamaica for DNA analysis.
Jeffers is confident that the result of the analysis would benefit the investigation greatly.
