Bulletins issued for Trini, other man
Police last evening issued wanted bulletins for businessman Clayton Hutson, Trinidadian Joseph Aboud and a 23-year-old man in connection with the discovery of high-powered arms and ammunition at a Regent Street house on Wednesday.
Hutson and Aboud have had several run-ins with the law. Frankie Ross is the third man wanted by the law enforcement officers for questioning in relation to the illegal importation of firearms and ammunition.
Meanwhile three women held at the house on Wednesday were still in police custody up to press time last evening. The women who are employed at well-known business establishments in the city have all denied any knowledge of the weapons or the other contents of the barrel. One is employed at an entertainment centre, one at a jewellery establishment and the other at a pharmacy.
This newspaper understands that the barrel in question is addressed to Ross who is related to the women in custody.
From all appearances he does not reside at Lot 120 Regent Street, Bourda where the items were unearthed by members of the joint services.
Police in a release issued on Thursday evening said that the ranks conducted a search at the house around 6.30 pm on Wednesday where they discovered an AK-47 rifle with the number filed off, a pistol with a silencer, a Mosberg shotgun, 713 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, 7 magazines for different firearms, a green camouflage water bottle and a green canvas pouch in a barrel.
According to the police, 44-year-old Hutson’s last known address is Lot 50 New Hope, East Back Demerara. He has a mole on the bridge of his nose and is five feet, five inches tall.
Aboud is a 31-year-old Trinidadian national whose last known address is Lot 355 Cummings Street, Alberttown. He is 6 ft tall. Ross is five ft five ins tall. His place of abode is unknown, police said.
Hutson who is the owner of several businesses had been before the court on several occasions.
Aboud was held along with several others in a house in Nandy Park several years ago when members of the joint services conducted a raid in search of the missing army AK-47 rifles.
Ballistic tests
In light of the discovery it was expected that ballistics tests would be done on the firearms to determine if they were used in any crimes and that began yesterday but up to press time the results were not available.
The army is still missing several AK-47s from the 30 that were stolen from Camp Ayanganna in 2006 but it could not been ascertained from army officials if the rifle found was from that stolen batch.
Sources say the pistol with the silencer is particularly disturbing and may point to the execution-style killings that have been occurring routinely. Observers have said that with the killing by the police of Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles there would be stepped up pressure for the police to crack down on other armed gangs engaged in extra-judicial acts.
Contacted last evening, Acting Police Commissioner, Henry Greene confirmed that ballistic tests had begun on the weapons but had not been completed. Asked whether there is any suspicion that the weapons may have been linked to any recent crime scenes he said he was still unsure about this and preferred to wait on the results of the tests.
He promised that once the results were available, same will be provided to the media.
Meanwhile Crime Chief Seelall Persaud when asked about the possibility of charges being laid against the women said that that stage of the investigation has not been reached.
There have been several cases of large amounts of arms and ammunition being found and questions have been raised about how they have flowed into the country. Porous borders are believed to be the key entry point but there are also questions about the level of security at ports.
Regular barrels
During a visit to the Regent Street house, this newspaper noticed several barrels in all shapes, colour and sizes in the yard. The names of two of the females in custody were visible on one of the barrels and another bore a Florida, USA address.
The weapons and other items were found in a blue plastic barrel which was next to three others in an area under the house.
This is the first instance this newspaper understands that law enforcement ranks had swooped down on the premises to conduct a search.
A source revealed to Stabroek News yesterday that from all appearances the army acting on intelligence first turned up at the house on Wednesday and conducted a search during which they found the weapons, ammunition and other items. These according to the source were removed from the barrel and the police arrived at the premise hours later and collected the barrel.
Coincidentally, the women, who this newspaper was told were at home during this course of events, were not arrested until around 3 pm on Thursday when ranks again visited the home.
Persons in the area were still dumbfounded yesterday and a man pointed out that the women who had been living at the house for years are very peaceful people.
Many did not know of the incident until they began receiving telephone calls early yesterday morning.
One man said that he noticed when ranks entered a yard nearby on Wednesday night and were looking around under a house before taking away a barrel. He stressed that at that point he was unaware of what was taking place and only became aware of what had happened when persons called him.