The Nassau Guardian
Two men arrested after guns seized
Officers seized several illegal firearms hidden among a shipment of assorted household items and appliances in Exuma, police said.
Superintendent Ken Strachan, head of the Firearms Tracing Unit, said the seizure took place this week, but he did not give a specific date.
Strachan said customs officers inspected a shipment that originated from the United States and found two rifles, two handguns and dozens of rounds of ammunition.
The shipment also reportedly contained popsicles and juice bottles.
“We are communicating and in collaboration with the customs department and we are awaiting further details,” Strachan told The Nassau Guardian yesterday.
“We do have a team of investigators conducting further inspections.”
Two Bahamian men were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The men are expected to be charged with gun trafficking, although Strachan was unable to say when.
Asked whether he was surprised by the method used to smuggle the weapons into the country, Strachan said, “Nothing surprises me in law enforcement any longer.”
The find is the latest in several significant gun seizures in recent days.
“We seized two weapons, an assault weapon and a pistol,” Strachan said.
“In another incident, where visitors came to our shores, we recovered five weapons, three of which we took from [waters] off a harbor in New Providence.
“We had a dive team out for some five hours… and recovered three handguns.
“In addition to that we have taken into custody another foreign national who was duly placed before the court on a complaint related to a firearm that came into the country that was not cleared.”
Strachan said with the assistance of customs and the defense force his department has also seized several high-powered weapons in the last few months.
He said over the last week police seized two AK-47s and a Mac-11.
Several assault rifles, handguns with extended clips and at least one firearm with a drum magazine were also seized recently.
Police said they confiscated more than 100 illegal firearms and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition for the year.
In 2013, police said they seized 438 illegal firearms and 6,853 rounds of ammunition.
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