Two men were arrested by ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Thursday after they were found with two illegal firearms and several matching rounds of ammunition.
Alpha Fletchman, 36, of 4th Street Kingston, Georgetown, and Larron Semple, 32, of Calcutta Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD), remain in custody pending charges.
CANU in a release stated that ranks were conducting an operation within the Botanical Gardens when they intercepted a motor vehicle with two male occupants. A subsequent search of the motor vehicle led to the discovery of two 9mm pistols and several rounds of matching ammunition.
As such, the men were arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters with the firearms as investigations continue.
Just recently, CANU announced that for the first half of the year, they made a total of 14 seizures involving weapons, consisting of 13 firearms and one 1 crossbow. These seizures, they said, have made a positive impact on the unit’s goal of creating a safer country.
The most recent case was in September when CANU ranks arrested two men after a quantity of marijuana and a firearm with ammunition were found in a boat in which they were passengers.
The firearms that were discovered by Police
The discovery was made along the Manarabisi Canal in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), and CANU had said that when its officers intercepted the speed boat, it was occupied by two adult males and a minor. The boat was searched in the presence of the occupants, and several parcels of suspected narcotics and one shotgun with 16 live cartridges were found therein.
The two adult suspects – Suraj Singh, 30, of Lot 69 Section B No 72 Village, Corentyne; and Mourice Vansluytman, 55, of Lot 18 Section A No 70 Village, Corentyne – were arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters, along with the suspected narcotics and shotgun with ammunition.
The narcotics tested positive for cannabis and had a total weight of 126 kilograms (277.7 pounds).
