Immigration officer’s loaded firearm goes missing from Defence Force Armory, but authorities have nothing to say

Authorities at the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) and
Immigration officials are investigating the disappearance of a pistol
with 15 rounds of ammunition.

The firearm and ammunition had been issued to an Immigration
officer who was assigned to the Rover Unit, which is the
Department’s enforcement unit.

However, after that officer was reassigned to the V.C. Bird
International Airport, the weapon was turned into the repository at
the ABDF at Crabbs, and custody was acknowledged and accepted
by the military. 

Several days ago, after it was discovered that the loaded firearm had
gone missing, an alarm was raised.

However, even as the Nation experiences an increase in armed
robberies and other gun crimes, officials in the Ministry of Public
Safety remain tightlipped regarding this missing weapon and
ammunition.

Real News will continue to monitor the troubling development.
It was less than two months ago that a policeman claimed to have
lost his loaded firearm while on duty. Reports said the officer
alleged that he had placed the gun on the hood of the police vehicle
while he went to relieve himself.

However, other officers told REAL News they feared the weapon had
been sold to criminal elements and not lost.