Venezuelan Man Held After Twenty-Three US-Manufactured Rifles Found in Guyana

A 28-year-old Venezuelan national is in custody after police and anti-narcotics agents intercepted a vehicle carrying two dozen AK-47 rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in West Bank Demerara.

Venezuelan Man Held After Twenty-Three US-Manufactured Rifles Found in Guyana

A 28-year-old Venezuelan national is in police custody following the discovery of a large arms cache during a roadside stop in Schoonord, West Bank Demerara, on Thursday evening.

According to Demerara Waves, enforcement personnel from the Guyana Police Force and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) jointly halted a motor vehicle and uncovered twenty-three AK-47 assault rifles inside. Alongside the firearms, officers recovered 504 rounds of 7.62×39 ammunition.

Deputy Police Commissioner Wendell Blanhum, who leads the Criminal Investigations Department, revealed that all of the rifles originated from American factories. He noted that the factory markings on twenty-two of the weapons had been intentionally erased, leaving only one firearm with a legible serial number.

Blanhum stated that one suspect was apprehended at the scene while two accomplices evaded capture. The detained man was later identified as Jonathan Gans, a resident of Third Street, Grove, East Bank Demerara. Ballistics experts at the CID Crime Laboratory are now inspecting the seized guns, while investigators question the prisoner.

The find adds to growing concern over gun trafficking into the Caribbean. CARICOM has repeatedly urged Washington to tighten controls on weapons leaving US shores, and the United States has invited regional partners to join the Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a programme aimed at tracing illicit firearms.

Earlier this year, authorities in Berbice filed charges against three local citizens after recovering ten AK-47 rifles in that district.

Source: Google News GY — Crime