PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC)— Trinidad and Tobago police on Wednesday said they had seized a quantity of “ghost guns” being manufactured using 3D printing technology during an early morning raid at a house in the Caparo district, in Central Trinidad.
Police Commissioner Erla Christopher said that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) remains relentless in its fight against rapidly evolving criminal elements and that the specialist unit acted with great urgency to put an end to the illicit activities of the male suspect.
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A female relative of the suspect was also arrested, according to police reports.
“Acting on information received, officers of the Specialist Unit quickly verified that a man was allegedly performing the duties of an armourer for criminal groups in the country. A house at…Caparo, was soon targeted and enquiries revealed that the individual had advanced his criminal activities to include the manufacturing of ‘ghost guns’ using 3D printing technology,” the Police Commissioner said.
The police said that following the raid at the suspect’s home a quantity of firearms, ammunition, projectiles, a 3D printer and a computer system were seized from the location.
The police went on to describe ghost guns as “firearms that can be produced using readily available 3D printing technology, making it challenging for traditional firearm control measures to detect and prevent their production. They can be manufactured without serial numbers or other identifying marks, making them difficult to trace and regulate.”
The Police Commissioner has warned that if such manufacturing operations become established in Trinidad and Tobago, it could lead to an increase in untraceable and illegal firearms circulating within the country.
“The proliferation of illegal firearms poses significant risks to public safety and law enforcement and the lack of control over the production and distribution of these weapons could result in an increase in violent crime and contribute to the empowerment of criminal organisations,” Christopher noted.
Last year, Trinidad and Tobago recorded 599 murders and so far this year, the total has registered more than 400.
