By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterA SHIPMENT of 15 illegal guns and over 400 rounds of ammunition was intercepted at the Kingston Wharf by members of the Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) .
While details about the cache remain sketchy, reports reaching The Gleaner are that six rifles and nine handguns were seized. It is alleged that the guns and ammunition were detected in a false compartment at the bottom of a crate.
According to a high-ranking source at the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), one of the rifles was fitted with a telescopic lens. The PAJ is the agency charged with the responsibility for providing security at the Kingston Wharf.
WEAPONS PACKED IN WOODEN CRATES
The Gleaner was told that the weapons were packed in wooden crates containing flour and tinned foods.
Members of OCID swooped down on the Berth 8 Warehouse at Kingston Wharf, searching for a shipment of 28 illegal firearms that an intelligence report had
suggested would arrive in the island.
Head of OCID, Superintendent Devon Watkis, was engaged in a lengthy meeting when contacted yesterday, but The Gleaner was told that the weapons were coming from the United States. Their destination was not disclosed by the police.
There were no reports of any arrests in
connection with the find.
Speaking at a press conference earlier this month, National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips, said in an attempt to reduce
the inflow of guns from the United States, selected members of the police force
have been placed overseas to assist in the investigation of gun smuggling to Jamaica.
