In a dramatic turn of events the Guyana Defence Force yesterday reported that two of the three weapons confiscated by the police during an operation on Wednesday in Mahaicony belonged to the army and they were issued to a PNC ministry in the 1970s.
Law enforcement authorities on Wednesday night found the weapons after three gunmen abandoned a boat with them in the Zeskendren, Mahaicony area. In a statement yesterday the GDF said that both the M-72 rifle and the berretta 9 mm sub-machine gun were the property of the army. The GDF said the weapons were issued to the Ministry of National Development in 1976 and 1979 respectively and were not returned.
At the time the PNC was in power and was being led by the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. Military sources said that both weapons are in good condition. Meanwhile, the police have also confirmed that three men have been arrested in connection with the arms and ammunition find but no one has been charged. Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that based upon evidence they had unearthed so far the gunmen might have been planning to launch an attack on one of the villages in the area.
In a statement on Wednesday police reported that about 2 pm the said day police ranks responded to information that a boat with a number of men was seen in the Zeskendren, Mahaicony drainage canal area. Upon arrival in the area the police saw three men aboard a boat. The men opened fire on the ranks who took evasive action and returned fire. The boat was later abandoned and police conducted a search on it and recovered: one M-72 rifle with five magazines and 80 rounds 7.62 x 39 ammunition; one beretta pistol with two magazines and 60 rounds 9 mm. ammunition; a semi automatic rifle with two magazines and 42 rounds 9 mm. ammunition; one telescopic lens; two camouflage jackets; two cutlasses; one torchlight and two bottles of mosquito repellent.
