Youths nabbed with M16 and grenades
- were planning to smuggle them into Camp St. Prison
A police rank searches the guitar bag for the weapon and explosives while his colleague guards the suspects.
The police may have averted a major catastrophe in the Georgetown Prisons with the apprehension of two men in whose possession an M16 rifle with two full magazines and two grenades shortly before midday, yesterday.
Police say that the two men were nabbed by ranks of an alert police motorcycle anti crime patrol while they were walking along Aubrey Barker Street, South Ruimveldt.
And according to reports, the men said that the items were intended for someone in the Georgetown Prisons.
They reportedly claimed that they were given the weapon by the son of a well known city resident.
This newspaper was reliably informed that one of the men is a sibling of a notorious high profile inmate who was recently jailed for decades on a murder charge.
Police said in a press release that at about 11:15 hours yesterday, ranks of a police motor cycle Anti-Crime Patrol observed the two men walking along Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt.
As the police ranks got closer to the men, one of them threw away a bag that he had in his possession.
The bag was retrieved by the police and found to contain an M16 rifle along with two magazines and 60 rounds of ammunition, a fragmentation grenade and a concussion grenade.
An eyewitness told this newspaper that the men were seen desperately trying to flag down a taxi.
“They look suspicious and dem taxi man radio dey base who then contact de police. Dey had dis guitar bag and we know dat it didn’t had in no guitar,” the eyewitness said.
“When dey see de police, dey panic more and drop de bag. But de couldn’t run no way. Is two youth man,” the eyewitness added.
The two men were arrested and are in police custody assisting with investigations.
Yesterday’s discovery and the subsequent revelations by the suspects are now major sources of worry for law enforcement officials who are extremely grateful that the weapon and explosives did not reach its intended targets.
Exactly one month ago, prison officials foiled a plot to smuggle ammunition to a high-profile inmate accused of committing acts of terror against the state.
The plot was reportedly unearthed after a warder at the Georgetown Prisons found two 12-gauge shotgun cartridges stashed in a pair of Nike sneakers that a civilian, Kellon Benjamin, had brought for his cousin, Anthony Watson.
Watson is one of the inmates accused of the November 4, 2009 arson attempt at the Supreme Court and of the murder of a civilian. He has been on remand since December 2010.
Police sources allege that the cousin, Kellon Benjamin, took some clothing and a pair of Nike boots to the prison for Watson. However, during a routine search of the items, a prison officer found the two cartridges stashed in one of the boots. He alerted his superiors and Benjamin was taken into police custody.
The discovery of the ammunition had sparked fears that a weapon may have already been smuggled into the prison. Immediately after the find, the entire prison population was on ‘lockdown,’ while police and prison officials scoured the premises. However no weapon was found.
