Illegal Guns A Worry in Trinidad and Tobago

Law enforcers in Trinidad and Tobago are disturbed – not just about the country’s spiraling murder rate but the increasing number of illegal weapons on the street.

And according to the country’s top cop, the twin-island republic has the highest number of firearms on the street in the region, with 80 per cent of homicides recorded involving guns.

Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams earlier this week told the Joint Select Committee, which analyzed the procurement, registration and retrieval of firearms, that 765 guns were removed from the streets last year, compared to the 691 seized in 2015 and 585 a year earlier.

And he warned that this was just a tip of the iceberg.

ACTING COMMISSIONER OF POLICE STEPHEN WILLIAMS

“What we are seeing is a consistency of an increase and a substantial increase. As we seize more, there is an indication that there is even more,” the top cop cautioned.

Chairman of the Joint Select Committee Fitzgerald Hinds expressed alarm that there appeared to be “thousands and thousands and thousands of guns out there, based on the number of shootings”.

He went further to talk about sophistication of the weapons, citing the high number of air rifles in the country, which Commissioner Williams admitted were “just as deadly as pistols”.

Williams said air rifles were fast becoming a major threat, lamenting that owners only needed a certificate of character and an application.

“There are numerous shops selling air rifles and you would be shocked by the level of sophistication of those air rifles,” he cautioned, urging authorities to review the legislation.

Despite that problem, the crime chief served notice that he was not sold on the idea of a gun amnesty.

“What we require is the stoppage of the flow of firearms. The Police Service has actually gotten to a record high each year in seizing firearms,” he said.

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Comment by Basil Rose on February 23, 2017 at 7:34pm: I'm pretty sure there is no gun store or factories in Trinidad and Tobago or any of these Caribbean Islands that are experiencing gun violence in there country. There most be an external force that sis bringing in these guns. Sounds like someone aganda to me

Comment by Ab Gai on February 23, 2017 at 5:24pm: He just talking because he want to hear his voice. Everybody knows the Syrians bring in the guns from chaguaramas ports. I know this, everybody know this and anybody with common sense knows it comes by boat. The people who've been dominating the ports shipments are the Syrians, in particular the family who was involved in the fabric industry. I can tell you where the look out/ observatory is located too.
CRIME SOLVED.!!!
They also bring in the drugs!!!!
ANOTHER CRIME SOLVED!!!!

I don't know why they keep playing with this serious issue since these young black boys and Indian boys aren't buying these fancy guns on amazon or eBay. Oh yeah, because the Syrians payoff the top cops. Bribery. It shouldn't be hard to solve because these idiots still walk around with bags of cash.
ANOTHER CRIME SOLVED! !!!

T&T government can cut me cashiers check for solving these easy-to-solve crimes.