Five high-powered rifles, including four AK-47s, which were recently recovered by police at different locations, have not been linked as yet to any recent crime, according to preliminary checks.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed yesterday that firearm experts have recently concluded preliminary checks on the weapons in comparison with spent shells retrieved from crime scenes and it has been discovered that they were not recently used to commission any of recent crime.
Blanhum, however, noted that the police will now be looking to conduct checks on the weapons to determine it they were used during the 2002 to 2009 crime wave.
During this period, he said, several gangs, including the Phantom Squad, the Kurt Thierens gang and the Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins gang had allegedly carried out a spate of crimes.
“The police had recovered spent shells during that period and we will be doing comparative checks on the five rifles to determine if they were used back then,” Blanhum said.
Two weeks ago, Police corporal 18404 Shavon Marks and several others, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), were placed under close arrest after they allegedly smuggled an AK-47 rifle out of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) compound, at Eve Leary.
This newspaper was reliably informed that acting on information received, the police conducted an operation during which they followed a car that had just left the TSU compound. The car was intercepted at Carmichael Street and during a search, the high-powered rifle was discovered.
The driver was promptly searched and taken into custody. During questioning, he reportedly implicated Marks and the ASP, who allegedly colluded to sell the weapon.
Marks was charged yesterday. Disciplinary charges had been recommended against the ASP.
Meanwhile, restaurateur Christopher Small was arrested last Thursday following the discovery of two high-powered weapons at his Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara residence. He too was charged yesterday.
Acting on information received, the police went to his residence, where he operates a fast food restaurant on the lower flat, and conducted a search that uncovered two AK-47s along with two empty magazines.
One day after this, ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department’s Major Crimes Unit found an AK-47 rifle and a Ruger rifle with magazines in an empty lot at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara. Two persons were taken into custody to assist with the investigation.
