UNC activist writes CoP: Did government official give up gun?

Attorneys representing UNC activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj have asked, via a letter, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher to verify whether reports of a government official surrendering a gun to the police are true.

They asked this question as they sought a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about her alleged failure and/or refusal to grant people new firearm users licences (FUL) due to an ongoing audit. This audit, the letter said, has "no end in sight."

The letter was dated Friday from Freedom Chambers, led by the former attorney general Annand Ramlogan, SC, and signed by attorney Jared Jagroo.

The letter said Balgobin-Maharaj had been informed of a "secret surrender" of a "deadly weapon" by the official who has "not been charged and prosecuted to date for breaking the law."

"When ordinary citizens are found to be in possession of an illegal firearm or prohibited weapon, they are normally made to feel the full brunt of the law. They are arrested, charged, and prosecuted, the letter said.

It appears, the letter added, that the person was above the law because of alleged police inaction.

The letter said Balgobin-Maharaj frequently uses FOIA to help people and gather information for his own social research.

The attorneys accused the CoP and her office of stalling the granting of FULs, adding the blood of innocent people flows like water daily.

"Criminals have no respect for law enforcement, and bandits continue to terrorize citizens with impunity. There has been no improvement in the low detection rate," the letter said.

The attorneys cited the stand-your-ground legislative proposal by the UNC leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, saying victims of home invasions can repel an attack with the complete protection of the law on their side.

The Prime Minister has publicly criticised the Opposition Leader's proposal.

The attorneys called on the CoP to say the number of FULs issued since her appointment until July 31 and the number of pending FUL applications.

The attorneys also called on Harewood-Christopher to say how many legal guns issued to people with valid FUL were used in murders from January 1, 2020, to July 31, 2023.

They also asked about how many government ministers were issued FUL and how many had more than one. The attorneys asked for the gun type and the amount of ammunition they could carry.

"Even if the information is exempt, it must nevertheless be disclosed under the section 35 override in the FOIA because the country is facing a tsunami of crime with daily bloodshed, murder, and mayhem," the letter said.

Another reason, the letter said, is because there is a serious risk of injustice if the police who are sworn to uphold the law participated in a cover-up of this serious breach of the Firearms Act and the Customs Act by allowing the official to surrender the weapon to avoid criminal prosecution.