The Guyana Police Force does not have any proof that licensed firearms were rented out to commit recent robberies, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud said on Monday.
During the launch of the police force’s annual Christmas Policing Plan, Persaud was asked about statistics that could show criminal activities being linked to rented licensed firearms.
“I don’t recall that evidence has been collected to prove that in any of the cases but the lines of inquiry are developed based on information that was received,” Persaud said.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum added that while there was one case so far for this year where a licensed firearm was used to commit a murder, it was later disclosed that the weapon was stolen.
However, during a recent interview with the Ministry of the Presidency, Persaud was quoted as saying that evidence from an ongoing murder investigation suggests that a licensed firearm holder for a number of firearms for a security company is renting those guns to persons who are not authorised to carry firearms, which resulted in the murder.
Persaud added that the force has heard of other such instances and pointed out that his office, under the Private Security Act, is authorised to conduct audits but more resources would have to be provided to do them more frequently.
In making a case for fewer guns in the hands of private citizens, President David Granger recently said there are cases where licenced firearm holders are renting their weapons to criminals to commit crimes. Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has also alluded to this practice in recent comments.
