Illegal Firearms and Ammunition Cases in Saint Lucia

The Vieux Fort Police Station of Saint Lucia seized Illegal Firearms and Ammunition on Wednesday, 18^th October 2023. The police took immediate action in this case of robbery.

Notably, a male individual in the alley close to the building is the prime suspect, he was behaving in a suspicious manner.

The Police officers accosted him even though he tried to run away but he couldn’t escape.

While searching his person individual by the officials, police found:

• One 9 mm pistol
• One magazine containing 15 rounds of 9 mm calibre ammunition

The suspect has been identified as Nigel Hippolyte, a 36-year-old man who resides in Bruceville, Vieux Fort.

He failed to show a Valid Firearm User Licence. Due to this he was charged under the following provisions: Possession of Firearm and Possession of Ammunition. He was also taken into custody under the charges of robbery and theft.

The man was taken to the Magistrate’s Court where bail was granted to him. He got bail at a sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000XCD) for illegally owning arms and ten thousand dollars ($10,000 XCD) for inappropriately holding ammunition.

The case hearing has been adjourned, the next hearing will be held on Tuesday, 9 January 2024.

Due to escalation in the number of cases concerning Offences of Possession of Firearm and Possession of Ammunition. The court has passed judgements in order to take this issue seriously in order to ensure the safety of the country.

There are many instances of such crimes occurring on the Island Nation-

In the past month, police officials came together for a collaborated operation. This operation resulted in the arrest of Eyan Williams who is also known as Peanut, as well as Riam Williams, his brother. A pair of handcuffs, an air rifle, a bulletproof vest, were grabbed by the officials in the raid.

Another incident includes the arrest of Kerrigan for the possession of firearms without a valid license. A 40-calibre pistol and forty rounds of ammunition were seized from them by the police. They were taken to the First District Court where they were granted bail.

What is even more disturbing, is that Saint Lucia has witnessed a gun possession case in which a 15-year-old male student had a 380-pistol recovered from his person. This became the catalyst for his arrest under the charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Such incidents highlight the need for stringent action to ensure the security of citizens.it must also be understood that the crime of possessing firearms and ammunition without a valid user licence is a serious offense.