Police arrests 7 in possession of guns, rounds of ammunition at Willikies

St John, Antigua and Barbuda: Police arrested seven males after two guns and several rounds of ammunition were seized in separate incidents on Saturday at Willikies.

It is to be noted that out of those seven, three were teenagers. Notably, three men have been held by police on suspicion of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition during an exercise at East Bus Station at about 4 am.

It is to be added in the police’s remarks that they have seized a 380 Beretta pistol with several rounds of ammunition. Further, the men are aged 32, 33 and 46.

Moreover, around two hours later, ranks executed a search warrant at a house in Donovan’s area, where they allegedly got their hands on a 9-millimetre Ruger pistol with multiple rounds of ammunition.

Notably, a 16-year-old from Green Bay Hill and three males from Donovan’s, aged 17, 18 and 25, were all taken into custody.

Moreover, police have intensified their anti-crime crackdown during the Yuletide season.

Additionally, such stances of crimes put the safeguarding of youth’s lives at risk. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has its hands full with an ever-escalating crime rate that has left citizens distressed.

In this year, the country has recorded 30,080 criminal cases, which is an astounding number considering the size of the nation and its population.

As per the records, Antigua and Barbuda is currently seeing seven to eight crimes per day. The authorities are aware of the issue, but they have been overcome by numbers as the sheer volume of the cases has overwhelmed them.

However, Superintendent Lisborn Michael, the second in command at the Criminal Investigation Department, made an attempt to address the issue with the support of his department and other public authorities.

As is obvious, these are very serious crimes which can’t be ignored, as the safety and security of the general population is at stake.