– Advertising –
The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is concerned about the presence of illegal high-powered weapons on the island, two of which Customs and Excise officials discovered in a barrel in Port Castries on Monday.
Customs officials found two AR 15 rifles, a Taurus 9 mm pistol, and ammunition, including 30 rounds of 5.56 rounds.
A man is in police custody in connection with the find, but police say it is early days in the investigation.
And they still haven’t announced charges.
– Advertising –
The head of the Major Crime Unit, Superintendent Luke De Freitas, said on Wednesday that ‘grave action’ could result from high-powered weapons in the wrong hands.
De Freitas spoke during an appearance on the Hot 7 Television program ‘Good Morning Saint Lucia’ with host, Shannon Lebourne.
The senior police officer indicated that the importation and access to high-powered weapons is a matter of concern.
“We’re not seeing these weapons coming, you know, just a single weapon, but what we’ve seen, people seem to have access to these weapons by the dozens, by the dozens, and our intelligence would tell us that these weapons are here on the island. in large numbers,” De Freitas explained.
He said that in collaboration with other agencies, the RSLPF is trying its best to stem the flow of arms.
However, De Freitas pointed out that criminals and ‘bad elements’ find ways to get around the systems that are in place.
See also
“So we also have to be very innovative,” he asserted.
However, he said ‘Good morning Saint Luciathat Saint Lucia could not go alone.
“We must also combine our efforts with our regional partners, with our international partners to deal with the situation,” said De Freitas.
“The ideal would be that these weapons would be intercepted even before they came to the island, where we would not need to go looking for them here in Saint Lucia, but that we would have the ability, with the help of our regional and international counterparts . , to seize these weapons, I assume during import or export from any country,” he told host Shannon Lebourne.
Header photo: Image online
– Advertising –
