Burnett Says Illegal Guns Enter Antigua Through Ports, Stolen From Licensed Owners
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Nuffield Burnett says illegal guns on Antigua and Barbuda’s streets are coming from two main sources: smuggling through the nation’s ports and diversion from licensed owners.
Speaking at a United Progressive Party town hall, Burnett said firearms are slipping into the country through both seaports and airports, often aided by corruption or negligence. “They’re coming into our seaports and our airports,” he said. “A lot of it happens because of unethical workings of some people — simple as that. Some people just plan the thing and say, ‘Okay, you’re going to come in when X [person is] working.’”
He criticized police for boasting about seizures instead of focusing on arresting those behind the imports. “What are you seizing it for? We want to catch the people who are bringing it,” Burnett said.
Burnett added that another route for illegal weapons is through licensed gun owners. He said firearms are sometimes lost in home break-ins or misused by owners, yet not always reported to authorities. “They come from some persons who have licensed firearms, careless with them, or they have home invasions, break-ins, and their firearms get stolen. Some people don’t even report it for fear that they may get backlash,” he explained.
The result, he said, is that guns legally issued to responsible citizens are ending up in the hands of criminals, further fueling violent crime.
Burnett’s comments come amid mounting public concern about rising gun violence and calls for stronger oversight at ports, along with stricter enforcement of firearm regulations.
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REAL TALK …
A time ago a Syrian man ask me so cool and smooth to buy one gun from him because he had to raised funds to pay them custom man up at the airport back in the 1990’s.
But the Antiguan government instruct the police to tip toe around anybody resembling Caucasian.
ALL of us are responsible for it because we know they are out there and SAY NOTHING!!!
So when you get held up or worse shot and killed by one, don’t come crying to us!!
Go ahead and keep quiet.
@Eldread/El dumb. Stop lying you weirdo. Everything you write is a lie!
It was always my belief that the majority of guns come in at our ports but when certain individuals are working so they can slip through, I am also of the opinion that the police suspect that too so it always baffles me they never set trap to nab the culprits. This place is full of crooks in places high and low
Guns are no more illegal than an ax, cutlass, sword, ice pick etc. They are all [tools] used for a purpose.
The use of the guns is the issue.
How else would the guns be entering into the Nation, other than through its porous ports?
I’m sure, that they’re not falling like rain from the sky after being by drones or aircraft nor UFO’s.
Simply put, the gun has become the WEAPON of choice to settle disputes or create havoc due to the VIBZ of the Culture.
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
Vere Edwards
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏾 Garrat_Bastard
Noting new here. It doesn’t take a retired commissioner who’s now trying to be relevant because of his title to reveal this. Majority of the population already know this and many have stated the same belief in the past. We kept hearing of the constant seizure of drugs but not once we heard of a weapons seizure which often runs side by side on the same highway.
What Mr former Commissioner needs to do is highlight some names, since I and everyone knows Big, Big names are involved in both trades.
Vehicles coming into this country have so many compartments that can be easily strip and put back together in minutes after retrieving what ever, but can we afford the ideal Xray machine to do this job? No! so we then turn BLINDLY to the biggest corruption scheme here which is donations, sponsorship, giveaway and endorsement as form of assistance.
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