City Police Arrest Marchand Labourer For Illegal Gun Possession

A Marchand labourer was in City Police custody on Monday after an early morning arrest for possession of an illegal gun. The City Police were due to hand him over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). At about 4:30 am, City Police officers arrested the twenty-nine-year-old after finding a Reck double-action GR 90 handgun handgun without ammunition in a pouch he carried. The arrest occurred on St. Louis Street, Castries, amid a surge in gun violence, primarily responsible for 48 homicides so far in 2024. Between April and June 2024, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) seized 12 319 rounds of ammunition and twenty-one illegal firearms. The RSLPF described the seizures as ‘impressive.’ In April, officers recovered nine firearms and 117 rounds of ammunition, four firearms and thirty-four rounds of ammo in May, and in June, eight firearms and 12 168 rounds of ammunition. Despite the seizures of illegal firearms and ammunition, social media users have complained bitterly about the granting of bail to individuals police charged with the offenses. According to critics on social media, bail amounts to a slap on the wrist in an environment where gun crime has become a serious national concern. Headline photo: Stock...