The police yesterday displayed a large number of toy guns seized from a store in Falmouth and pointed to the danger of them being used to commit crimes, especially at night.
At the same time, Superintendent Wilford Campbell, commander of the Falmouth police division, said that arrests should be made in connection with the seizure of the contraband, as they are uncustomed goods.
“We are currently conducting an investigation into how and by what means these guns would have come into the island, as they are regarded as uncustomed goods. So at the end of that investigation we will be making some arrests or prosecutions where this is concerned,” he told journalists at a news conference at the Falmouth Police Station.
According to Superintendent Campbell, the police will be conducting operations in other stores in the Falmouth area as they will not allow the sale of toy guns, firecrackers or any other goods that are restricted by Customs.
He said that the toy guns could be used by criminals to stage robberies and other illegal activities due to their close resemblance to real weapons.
“We are concerned that if, by any chance, these uncustomed goods get into the hands of the wrong persons there could be lots of problems as they relate to criminal activities,” Superintendent Campbell said.
“Because they bear the resemblance of a firearm, and especially if they are used at nights in robberies, break-ins, etcetera, certainly the victim would not hesitate to give in, or the fear factor as it relates to the commission of the offence could not be contemplated in any different way than to believe that they are being held at gunpoint,” he argued.
Superintendent Campbell also said that for the festive season the majority of the cops in the division have been relieved of their administrative duties and have been assigned to the streets.
“We in the Trelawny division would have formulated our Yuletide Strategic Plan,” he said. “The plan basically encompasses our activities for the season, which would see us adopting a 80/20 ratio; meaning 80 per cent of our staff would be mobilised on the streets, and the 20 per cent would be engaged in administrative and CIB functions.”
He said the seizure of the toy guns was evidence of the Yuletide Strategic Plan already reaping success.
“Resulting from that, our vigilance would have increased and, so, acting on intelligence, we would have conducted a special operation on one of those stores in Falmouth, which would have resulted in the seizure of these toy guns,” Superintendent Campbell said.
