Concern as cops find more guns, ammo this time in Couva

JUST four days after seizing a large cache of arms and ammunition at the Piarco International Airport bond, police raided a warehouse in Couva on Monday and made a similar find.

It included over 1,600 rounds of assorted ammunition, five guns, including an assault rifle with sniper scope, several magazines and gun accessories.

A police release on Tuesday said that at 9 pm on Sunday, Special Investigations Unit (SIU) officers got a tip-off about an imported container of household appliances. The shipment was at a warehouse off the Southern Main Road in Mc Bean Village.

Police said the contraband weapons entered the country sometime around the end of February.

Together with officers from the Central Gang Intelligence Team and the Customs and Excise Division, SIU officers searched the container and made the find at around 7 am on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence and Investigations) Mc Donald Jacob thanked officer in the various units for their "continued commitment in ridding the streets of these weapons." He said the two recent seizures showed weapons and ammunition are coming through legal ports of entry.

Jacob said with the recent formation of the Central Intelligence Bureau and the public's co-operation, the police continue to carry out intelligence-led exercises throughout the country.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, Jacob said local authorities have always collaborated with international counterparts in terms of intelligence-gathering.

On Sunday, police sources told Newsday they suspected the seizure of weapons at the bond in Piarco was linked to a plot to violently free inmates from prison.

Contacted for comment, chairman of the Port Authority (PATT) retired Col Lyle Alexander said these recent arms and ammunition seizures is of concern to all citizens. He called on all stakeholders in the import business to work with the authorities to clamp down on illegal items, including weapons, coming into the country.

Alexander said his organisation would continue to do its part to mitigate risks but noted the fight against the importation of drugs and guns is a shared responsibility.

"I don't know if additional security measures are what we're looking at in the ports. The ports just transport the cargo and they do their fair share of surveillance, but we all have to work together to prevent these things from coming in.

Responding to Newsday's questions via email over whether the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Bureau were assisting local police with the investigation or conducting a parallel inquiry of their own, deputy chief of the public affairs division at the US Embassy Andre Miller deferred questions to "the local authorities."

WHAT WAS SEIZED

- 200 rounds 7.62 mm ammo

- 150 rounds 9 mm ammo

- 20 boxes of pure hemp

- 20 boxes of wrapping paper

- 6 black 9 mm ammunition drums

- 3 black 5.56 mm ammunition drums

- 700 rounds of .45 ammo

- 60 rounds of 5.56 mm ammo

- 1 MAGPUL assault rifle with sniper scope

- 3 black 5.56 mm magazines

- 4 pistols each with 1 ammo magazine

- 2 "rouni" attachments with scopes.

(This converts a pistol into an automatic weapon)

- 10 boxes of .40mm ammo with 50 rounds per box

- Extended ammo magazine for 6.40 mm bullets

- 50 rounds of 9mm hollow-point ammo.