The three men wanted in connection with the discovery of a cache of weapons, ammunition and other items at a Regent Street house remained at large up to press time last evening, while the three women held continued to be grilled by police ranks.
On Friday, police issued wanted bulletins for businessman Clayton Hutson, Trinidadian Joseph Aboud and 23-year-old Frankie Ross, who they say are wanted for questioning into the illegal importation of firearms and ammunition. Ross is related to the three women who were arrested the day after the find.
The police expressed interest in the trio, two of whom have had run-ins with the law, two days after a barrel containing the items were discovered under a house.
Police, in a release issued on Thursday evening, said they conducted a search at the house around 6.30 pm on Wednesday and discovered an AK-47 rifle with the number filed off, a pistol with a silencer, a Mossberg shotgun, 713 rounds of ammunition of various calibre, 7 magazines for different firearms, a green camouflage water bottle and a green canvas pouch in a barrel.
According to the police, 44-year-old Hutson’s last known address is Lot 50 New Hope, East Back Demerara. He has a mole on the bridge of his nose and is 5 ft, five ins tall.
Aboud is a 31-year-old Trinidadian national whose last known address is Lot 355 Cummings Street, Alberttown. He is 6 ft tall. Ross is five ft five ins and his place of abode is unknown, police said.
Hutson who is the owner of several businesses, had been before the court on several occasions.
Aboud was held along with several others in a house in Nandy Park several years ago when members of the joint services conducted a raid in search of the missing army AK-47 rifles.
Sources told Stabroek News yesterday that since the bulletin was issued there had been no sighting of the men.
The women who are employed at well-known business establishments in the city have continued to deny any knowledge of the contents of the barrels, the source said.
One is employed at an entertainment centre, one at a jewellery establishment and the other at a pharmacy.
This newspaper understands that the barrel in question is addressed to Ross, but from all appearances, he does not reside at Lot 120 Regent Street, Bourda where it was discovered.
The occupants of that house are regular recipients of barrels from overseas and their yard told the tale as several, of all shapes, colour and size were in the yard.
Through ballistic tests have started on the weapons to ascertain whether they have been used in any recent crimes, up to press time last night, the police had released no results.
The source also revealed that based on the information received, charges could be laid against the three women early next week.
Residents told Stabroek News on Friday that the discovery did not fit the lifestyle of the three women who had been living at the home for years, since they are “quiet and friendly people”.
One man told Stabroek News that sometimes friends of a young man who lives there would go to lift weights, but those were the only strangers they would see there.
A source had said that from all appearances, the army, acting on intelligence, first turned up at the house on Wednesday and conducted a search during which the weapons, ammunition and other items were found. These, according to the source, were removed from the barrel and the police arrived at the premises hours later and collected the barrel.
Coincidentally, the women, who, this newspaper was told, were at home during the search and discovery were not arrested until around 3 pm on Thursday when police visited the home again.
Over the years, several large amounts of arms and ammunition have been found and questions have been raised about how they could have arrived in the country. Porous borders are believed to be the key entry point but there are also questions about the level of security at ports.
