By Leroy Smith

Following Tuesday night’s arrest of six men with what police sources have indicated are new weapons , the lawmen are expected to create a dent in the trade of small arms which end -up in the hands of criminals.

The Guyana Chronicle  was on Wednesday informed that the four weapons which the police seized during a roadblock at Supply on the East Bank Demerara on Tuesday evening were all brand new and tell the tale of an active gun trade.

While serial numbers from two of the weapons which were found have been filed, the police are confident that with the two which still have their numbers intact, they would be able to at least trace where the weapons originated from and if they would have been linked to any crime.

The police during a sprung-up roadblock in response to a robbery along the East Bank of Demerara on Tuesday night , seized one Glock 9mm pistol with serial number FKA 452 and 11 rounds, one black Glock 9mm pistol with its serial number filed off and 11 rounds, one black Beretta Pistol with serial number PY 1467150 and 11 rounds and one Tarus pistol with its serial number filed out and six live rounds.

Additionally, the police found less then fifteen hundred Guyana dollars in the vehicle as well as one sledge hammer, two pairs of unused gloves and two trade plates belonging to a popular auto dealer.

The  men who are in custody have been identified as Steve Hercules 30 years old of Lot 2-3 Sisters Village West Bank Demerara, 33 -year old Nabidigi Gobin ,a trader of Lot 181 Charlotte Street , Bourda, 31- year old fish vendor Renard Khan of 147 Cooper Street Albouystown, 39 -year old taxi driver Mark Prince of Lot 52 Parfait Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, 30- year old Edward Skeet, a trader of Lot 309 Independence Boulevard and Marvin Blackman 27- years old of Lot 89 Dars Street South Ruimveldt.

According to what this publication was told, the men were in the process of robbing the home of a Chinese national who was at home with his two sons when the occupants  heard a suspicious sound.

They investigated and found persons trying to break into their property and subsequently raised an alarm sending the men fleeing from the area.

A very senior officer within the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)was informed of the development and he subsequently contacted the police in ‘A’ Division who adopted a posture and kicked in several SOPs which resulted in the men being apprehended at the road block.

One police source indicated that Blackman is known to them and would have appeared before the courts in the past for similar activities.

Tuesday night’s arrest came on the heels of a police operation in Sophia  last weekend in which three persons , including a teenager who admitted that he has been transporting small arms from the interior of Guyana to the Coastland in exchange for gold, were taken into custody .

The police are still working on that investigation and the lawmen are using their resources, to get to the bottom of that trade.