‘We will be bringing down entire networks’
Holness talks tough, says Gov’t targeting ‘main players’ in illegal gun trade
Published:Monday | April 11, 2022 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said that there is sufficient intelligence to curb the influx of illegal guns and contraband entering the country and expressed confidence that government employees and persons from financial institutions, among others, will soon have to answer to their crimes.
“Too many illegal guns are coming through our legal ports,” Holness said last Thursday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Little London Police Station in Westmoreland.
“We know the people who are doing it, but we are not going to go after one little person. Our strategy is to take down networks. When we act, we will be bringing down entire networks, and you would also notice that we have a strategy of taking the profit out of crime,” he said.
The illegal trade in guns and ammunition has been a long-standing challenge for the security forces, with the gun being the main weapon of choice for criminals as the island recorded 1,463 murders last year.
Guns have also played a major role in the nearly 400 murders, so far, this year.
DEVISED A STRATEGY
But according to Holness, his administration has devised a strategy to stem the flow by targeting the main players, instead of the man on the street.
“That’s not who we really want. We want to get the customs officer that is facilitating the guns coming through the port,” Holness declared.
“We want to get the man that works in the bank that is allowing the currency to be transferred either into the country or out of the country. We want to get the policemen who are tipping people off,” he added.
In January, 20 guns and 40 magazines were seized at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. In February, another seven guns – three M16 rifles and four pistols – along with nine magazines, were confiscated at the airport.
Also in February, acting on intelligence reports, the police found 13 guns, including 10 high-powered rifles, during an operation in a housing scheme in Trelawny.
Last month, some 21 guns were also seized during an operation at a warehouse in west Kingston. That cache included 18 pistols and three rifles.