AK-47 assault rifles smuggled through wharves for Venezuelan gang members

The 33 AK-47 assault rifles that were recently seized by Guyanese law enforcers in two separate busts less than one month apart were shipped by sea and smuggled through the city’s wharves undetected for South American gang members, sources said.

The government has been tight-lipped and only limited information has been provided by the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

When Demerara Waves Online News asked what appear to be the motives behind these two seizures of AK-47 assault rifles, Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond responded with “Still assessing. The investigation is active.”

Her advisor, former Minister of Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn gave “no comment at this time” but acknowledged that Guyanese must always be concerned about matters concerning guns.

“Guyanese always have to be concerned when guns are being pushed around,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

The Head of the GPF’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Deputy Police Commissioner Wendell Blanhum, had already said the 23 AK-47 assault rifles that were seized from a vehicle at Schoonard, West Bank Demerara last Thursday night, June 11, were made in the United States.

A well-placed source in the security sector would only say that the guns were concealed in barrels, boxes and vehicles that were not properly checked but the government was yet to acquire sophisticated scanners to check imports for illegal items.

“They came through the maritime traffic,” the official said.

The source said those scanners had already been purchased and were being shipped to Guyana.

Senior government officials have declined to say whether the guns were brought to Guyana as part of a plan to kill the Head of the Customs Narcotics Unit (CANU) James Singh, who was recently threatened on social media, a political motive, arms trafficking or target a specific national security agency.

But the high-level source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Venezuelan gang members were supposed to move the weapons to their accomplices near the border with Venezuela.

It is also believed, according to the source, that the weapons would be used to protect illegal gold mines.

“We know the Venezuelans were buying the weapons. We don’t know where they were going or who they were going to. There is a belief that they were going to the mining sectors. There is a belief that they are going to some of the gangs along the border because of all the right restrictions in Venezuela,” the official said.

Asked whether it is believed that the Tren de Aragua gang was making moves to establish themselves further westward into Guyana, the security sector official said, “I believe so.”

A Venezuelan man, Jonathan Gans, 28, of Third Street, Grove, East Bank Demerara, was arrested Thursday night while attempting to flee the scene at Schoonord.

City businessman Randy Jagdeo, 40, surrendered to police on Sunday in the company of his lawyer after a wanted bulletin was issued for him and Orlando Gabriel.

Three Guyanese were also arrested for the first arms cache seizure in late May.

Meanwhile, the small opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) on Sunday night decried the government for opting to remain largely silent on the gun busts – on May 22 in Berbice and June 11.

“While authorities succeeded in recovering those weapons, the incident highlighted broader concerns about the movement and circulation of illegal firearms within the country,” the AFC said.

The AFC said Guyanese deserve answers regarding how such weapons came into circulation, who was responsible, and whether any laws were breached.

That party said the allegations have sent shockwaves across Guyana, given the potential implications for public safety and national security.

“The discovery of these weapons has also fueled questions about whether other firearms may remain unaccounted for and whether criminal networks or other unauthorized individuals could have access to similar weapons,” the AFC said.