The police have been unable to ascertain ownership of the single round of ammunition which was found aboard one of the three trawlers intercepted by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard last Saturday and advice has been sought from the DPP.
Up to yesterday, the police were still awaiting legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on how to treat with the men on board.
The owner of the vessels is one of the persons in custody and he had travelled all the way from the United States where they were purchased. A senior police source has confirmed that the men are on board the vessel and are being monitored by police ranks.
The police officer also said that the check which the vessels underwent is thought to have been a routine one.
The source said the men have all denied knowledge of the find suggesting that it may have been there prior to the purchase.
In a statement on Tuesday the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department said the vessels are not legally associated with fishing activities in Guyana, neither have they been registered here. The ministry also undertook to conduct an investigation to provide answers to other questions which may arise.
Yesterday Minister Robert Persaud said that there was nothing new from his ministry’s end.
On Saturday afternoon the trawlers were spotted moored at the Muneshwer’s wharf and the GDF Coast Guard intercepted them and the police and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were called in and the search began.
The GDF has said that acting on a tip the MV Champagne, Daddy’s Boy and Lucky Lady were searched. The searches came up with telescopic sights and the single round of ammunition.
The owner and captains of the three trawlers remained in police custody yesterday on board the vessels which are moored at the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard wharf.
