Stem the flow of guns

THE EDITOR: With all the efforts of the TTPS, if there is no plugging of the holes through which guns and ammunition are entering Trinidad and Tobago, the scale will always be tipped in favour of the criminal elements when it comes to murders. And I daresay, the scales have already tipped.

Recently, in one of our dailies, I read that more guns were taken off the streets by the TTPS, but there appears to be a never ending flow of illegal firearms and ammunition into this country and into the hands of criminals.

I am appealing to our police commissioner Mr Gary Griffith, the key in winning the war against crime lies in disarming those who indulge themselves in this type of behaviour. The main weapon involved in murders is guns. Take away the power that a criminal feels when he or she holds a gun in their hand and you will see.

We do not have any gun factories in TT so clearly the illegal guns are coming from outside. A serious, sustained and committed effort to secure our borders and thus stem the flow of guns and ammunition, is necessary.

Acquiring guns and ammo takes money as nothing in life is free. So there must be some mastermind or financiers behind the scene ordering and distributing the weapons of death among the criminal elements. This is where our TTPS need to target also.

Cut off the head and the body will die. Cut off the financing and the trade in arms and ammunition will stop. It may very well shock the nation if ever we find out who the mastermind and financiers are. Crime is a business and there must be profit to be had. The police need to not only go after the gunman but also those pulling the strings from a distance.

Get a grip on guns entering our country and believe you me, the murders will decrease.

ARNOLD GOPEESINGH

San Juan