Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is urging the Vincentian public to be cautious when having barrels sent to them from overseas.
Prime Minister Gonsalves while speaking on state radio warned persons not accept barrels or boxes of which they do not know the contents of, making note of an alarming number of illegal firearms being smuggled in via this method.
“I want to advise people, do not allow any and anybody to send a box or a barrel for you, and if you don’t know, and somebody might put in a box or a barrel, don’t let them send it for you, and when somebody asks you that Mavis or Jonathan, sending a barrel for them or a box, but they wouldn’t be in the country, they could put it in your name, then you clear it for them. I’m advising you to be careful.” He said.
The Prime Minister said there has been an increased detection of illegal firearms at the Campden Park port in particular thanks to the installation of a scanning device.
“We have operational down at Campden Park Port, where 90% of the stuff comes in the containers. We have a sophisticated scanner established there now, and we can see the guns coming in, you know. We can see what you’re bringing in even before the box is open because–or the barrel–because some people try to conceal some things in some very clever ways, which a manual search may not pick up, and we’re in the process of installing one in Kingstown.” The Prime Minister said
Prime Minister Gonsalves reiterated his call for persons to cautious when accepting barrels from overseas; warning that innocent persons can find themselves in trouble with the law if they are not careful.