BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THREE operations, in as many days, conducted by law enforcement officers resulted in the seizure of five illegal firearms, 32 rounds of ammunition and a quantity of marijuana, among other items.
According to a police release, the first and second operations were conducted on properties in Conaree Village on Monday (May 8) and Tuesday (May 9) respectively.
In the first operation, officers discovered and seized one firearm, a magazine and one kilo of marijuana. In the second one, they discovered and seized one Smith and Wesson .40mm Pistol with a magazine containing nine rounds, seven of which were hollow point; a magazine with fourX9mm rounds; a number of 20-gauge shotgun rounds; one bulletproof vest; two masks; and several pieces of camouflage clothing.
As a result of these operations, eight individuals were arrested and are currently in police custody pending investigations and possibly charges. Among them are the two officers of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Department who were arrested on Monday for alleged illegal importation of firearms into St. Kitts and Nevis.
In commending the officers, Commissioner of Police Ian Queeley said: “I want to commend you for your vigilance. This investigation took time, you followed every lead, you combed through the information and you delivered. We have removed another firearm from our communities. I want to express our thanks for the support from our partners. Collaboration works...let us continue.”
The third operation was conducted early this morning (May 10), also in the Conaree Village area, by officers of the Special Services Unit (SSU).
The release stated that while searching a hillside area in that village, officers found two 9mm Pistols, one 12-guage shotgun and 19 rounds of ammunition.
These illegal firearms and ammunition were taken into police custody but no one was held accountable for the find.
Commenting on their success, Head of the SSU, Superintendent Adolph Adams said: “Days like these are very encouraging for our officers and help them to understand that we must always be vigilant. We never know which search will be a fruitful one.
“Even though no one has been held responsible for the find, today we took three firearms from our streets, three firearms from the hands of criminals.”
The release also stated that the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force continues its appeal to residents and citizens to come forward and share any information they might have with regards to crime and criminal activity.
Citizens, it added, could do so by calling any police station, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477(TIPS) or by using the SKN Crime Reporter App on a Smartphone.
These seizures have taken to 18 the total illegal firearms removed from the streets of St. Kitts and Nevis for this year.
