Lethem rifles not used in crimes here

– traced to US, other countries

The 10 automatic rifles that were discovered during a raid on a house at Tabatinga, Lethem last month have not been linked as yet to any crimes here, according to ballistic tests, but police do have information that the weapons were passed through several countries, including the United States.

Security sources had said that from all indications the weapons along with matching ammunition and other items had been smuggled into Guyana and there are suspicions that they came from neighbouring Brazil and were to be later transported to the city once a deal was reached.

Around 3 pm on October 1, police raided the house and found the automatic rifles along with matching ammunition, two shrapnel hand grenades, radio sets and a roll of camouflage material.

Some of the weapons found in the raid at Tabatinga Lethem last month

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, when contacted for an update on the bust which has so far resulted in one man being charged, told Stabroek News that an eTrace request has produced some results but based on local ballistics tests, “they have not been used in Guyana [in the commission of any crimes].”

While stressing that the police were still investigating, Persaud said that some of the results came from the “US and other places and showed that they were there at some time.” He could not remember the other countries but noted that the US was among them.

According to ATF online, eTrace (Electronic Tracing System) is an internet-based system that allows participating law enforcement agencies to submit firearm traces to the ATF National Tracing Center (NTC).  Authorised users can receive firearm trace results via the website, search a database for all firearm traces submitted by their individual agency, and perform analytical functions.

When quizzed about the length of time it would take for local sleuths to have all the necessary information, acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell had said that it is being done by competent people and will be made available in a timely manner. He had said that his ranks were still awaiting “all” of the information that was requested.

Meanwhile, a security source explained that once police find a weapon it has to undergo ballistics testing. It was explained that during testing, the weapon would be fired so that its distinctive marking (which is like a fingerprint) can be known. Once this is in the possession of investigators, the source said, it can be compared with other markings from various crimes scene which are in possession of the police.

Nothing much can be derived from recovered ammunition, the source said, explaining that the bullets would have no marking on them to compare with those already in the possession of the police because they had not been fired. The only way tracing of ammunition can occur is if investigators are in possession of empty casings.

This newspaper was told that while recovered ammunition cannot be linked directly to crime scenes, investigators could still check to see where a particular type of ammunition is being used consistently in the commission of crimes.

Up to press time yesterday, there was no new information on the ownership of the weapons. A police source indicated that it is believed that Lethem contractor Clive King has information that could provide answers. Police had issued a wanted bulletin for King and the now dead Ricardo Rodrigues in connection with the discovery. While Rodrigues turned himself it, King has continued to elude authorities.

Sources in Lethem said that more than likely he is still hiding out in neighbouring Brazil, where he was when ranks from Georgetown in collaboration with their Lethem counterparts swooped down on his house and found the items.

King’s employee, Benedict Thompson, along with his (King’s) wife, was arrested and transported to the city where they were interrogated about the discovery. Thompson was later charged with the possession of the weapons while the woman was released.

On October 15, several days after he was released on bail by police following questioning about the arms find, Rodrigues was gunned down at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club as he sat with friends.

Three men were also wounded in the shooting and one of them, Canadian Jean Le Blanc, died 11 days later in hospital under suspicious circumstances.

Though Le Blanc had initially denied knowing Rodrigues, well-placed sources told this newspaper that he was here for a transaction with Rodrigues, whom he knew from previous visits. Both men were acquaintances of the now-imprisoned drug lord Roger Khan.

Sources close to the Rodrigues’ investigation had said Le Blanc was here at the request of Rodrigues and had been asked to provide backdated receipts for communication devices sold to him back in 2003. It is unclear if the receipts were linked to the ammunition bust at Lethem.

The shooting was linked to a guns-for-drugs deal falling through as a result of the Lethem find. It is believed that as a result of this, Rodrigues and one of his bodyguards, Marlon Osborne, were killed. Osborne was gunned down in Queenstown in a separate attack after Rodrigues slaying.