Police arrested a Caparo man after an early morning raid resulted in the discovery of 3D-printed high-powered rifles, called “ghost guns.”
Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher at the Weekly Police Press Briefing said these guns have no serial numbers or other identifying marks, making these weapons harder to track down.
“Ghost guns are made using readily available 3D printing technology, making it challenging for traditional control measures to detect and prevent production,” Harewood-Christopher said.
Police said a specialist unit got information that a man operating out of Todd’s Road, Caparo, was supplying guns to criminal groups.
[caption id="attachment_1033061" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A 3D-printed gun and gun components found by police at a house in Caparo on Wednesday. One man was arrested in relation to the find. - TTPS[/caption]
Police, after investigating, discovered that the man began manufacturing “ghost guns,” firearms which were made during 3D printing machines and are hard to trace by police.
Police raided the house at about 4 am on Wednesday and a quantity of firearms, ammunition, projectiles, a 3D printer and a computer system were seized.
A female suspect was also arrested in the raid.
“The proliferation of illegal firearms poses significant risks to safety and law enforcement,” she said. “The lack of control in the production and distribution of these weapons could result in an increase in violent crime and contribute to the empowerment of criminal organisations.”
Harewood-Christopher promised that specialised units would continue to work to meet the emerging threat.
A Caribbean firearms study released in April said that most ghost guns used incomplete parts of firearms along with 3D printed components to manufacture guns.
The report said that while the evidence available suggested that these types of guns represent a small percentage of illicit firearms in the region the true number of these types of guns are unknown because of under reporting and other data limitations.
The report, however, suggested that there should be concern because of the threats it poses to traditional regulation methods.
“Advancements in techniques for producing PMFs (privately made firearms) are primarily driven by a large, centralised online community of amateur gunsmiths who are continuously refining methods for creating functional PMFs,” the report said.
[caption id="attachment_1033062" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A computer system found by police along with a stash of 3D-printed guns and gun components in a Caparo house on Wednesday. The computer system is believed to have been used in the printing of the gun components. One man was arrested in relation to the find. - TTPS[/caption]
“Accurately and consistently identifying ghost guns, 3D printed firearms and other PMFs require regular training on firearm identification.”
Also on Wednesday, a police statement said investigations were continuing into the seizure of a sub machine gun, magazines and an ammunition
