Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says that one of the guns seized by local law enforcement authorities is linked to a crime in the United States of America.
Gonsalves made the announcement as the 2023 budget debate was coming to a close.
Officers from the Customs Department and the Police Force last December intercepted a number of weapons and ammunition imported to the country. The weapons include six pistols and two rifles.
“Madam Speaker, one of the guns that we got the other day is here being investigated. There is evidence that this was used; one of those was used in a crime in a particular state in the United States of America. Because one of the things that you’d know, and the honorable attorney general would know this because he had been involved in this, is that when fellas use a gun somewhere else, they try to dispose of it as quickly as possible and get it out of the jurisdiction. That’s part of the usual MO (modus operandi). “And it is all locked up with the trade in cocaine,” Gonsalves told parliament.
According to the Prime Minister, guns imported from the United States are linked to the cocaine trade.He said one of the problems is the ease with which guns are available in the USA.
“And because guns are so easily obtained in America, they come through the shoot,” he explained.
Gonsalves said the issue is complex, hence the need for a multifaceted approach involving all of society and regional and international cooperation.
