Police comb empty lot for gun and drugs
On Tuesday, the Gang Suppression Unit found a cache of weapons at an apartment on Mopan Street. That search was followed by another this morning by the police who report that a team from Special Branch searched an abandoned lot on Faber’s Road. It yielded a bag containing eighty-seven grams of cannabis, but the more substantive find was a Pietro Beretta point three-eighty Pistol with an empty magazine. No one was in the immediate area so there were no arrests.
I assume our police are testing all firearms they find with our new forensic ballistics equipment that was a recent gift from Canada. For example, if this Beretta has previously been used in a crime where a bullet was recovered, the gun might be matched by the lab. Police need to build up a database of firearms and recovered bullets, etc., just like with fingerprints.
I think we need a law that EVERY firearm sold or registered in the Jewel should be required to be tested first by the ballistics lab. That way, if the gun is ever used in a crime in the future, the police will have the evidence they need in advance to identify the weapon and its registered owner. I assume our visionary, ever-so-diligent Min of National Security has already implemented a program like that.
Good point Storm, I think kudos to Special Branch too for stepping up! They seemed dormant for some time eh! But good job and I hope to see more reports from them, makes me feel like my tax is actually going to some productive use, jeje.
@Storm. I was going to leave a comment but you hit the nail exactly on its head. I really agree with you, Lets see how many conviction they going to make with all these weapons being found.
“I assume our visionary, ever-so-diligent Min of National Security has already implemented a program like that.”
Sounds like a question that the news media should report on.
It would be a good law to have on the books to solve crime, and it would also help determine how many illegal guns are in circulation.
The crux of the problem is whether the machine can be maintained in good working order.
The US donated police equipment (motorcycles, guns, communications).
An audit a year later, 25% of it was missing and unaccounted for.
@Gone fishing — OUCH! Truth hurts!
I think @Storm is right, EVERY gun that is recovered, and EVERY gun that is sold or registered should be tested by the lab and entered into a permanent database. If that program solves one murder it will be worthwhile — but I’ll bet it will solve a lot more than that.
So the question becomes whether Min. Saldivar wants to solve murders?