Mega ammo probe at JRA
Published: Sunday March 8, 2009
Glenroy Sinclair and Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporters
A SHIPMENT of more than half a million rounds of ammunition, being imported by the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA) gun club in St Andrew, has been ordered detained by the Government, pending an audit of the club's facility by the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA).
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The Ministry of National Security confirmed on Friday that the FLA, as part of its monitoring and inspection programme, was in the process of conducting an audit of the JRA facility. As a result, the shipment of ammunition has been held."
Consignment stored by JDF
A high-ranking staff member at the security ministry has explained that security arrangements require the consignment to be stored at a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) facility for safekeeping."
"In the meantime, senior officials at the FLA are concerned that lax security measures governing the storage of ammunition at the JRA's range could result in bullets ending up on the streets."
"The gun-licensing authority also slammed members of the rifle association, claiming that they had hindered the successful completion of the audit and inspection. The FLA argued that fewer than half of the 480 lockers being used by JRA members had been made available for audit and inspection, despite having been given sufficient notice."
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"The lockers, each having a unique number, are rented to members for the storage of their firearms and ammunition. They are secured with padlocks and only the owners have access to them.Goodgame wrote to Colonel Audley Carter, president of the JRA, on November 5, 2008, informing him of the pending audit and inspection on the 15th of the same month.
The writing was on the wall that a stand-off was in the making when Carter responded five days later.
His letter stated: "We have examined the Firearms Act and we are unable to locate any provision therein which authorises your personnel to carry out searches without the benefit of a search warrant and, as we are sure that you are well aware, the individual lockers within the Jamaica Rifle Association would be akin to a safety-deposit box in a bank vault. Therefore, a blanket search warrant would not be appropriate. "
"It would appear that in order for your personnel to gain access to the lockers, for which consent cannot be obtained, you will be required to obtain individual search warrants for each locker." "
