SCHOOLCHILDREN were exposed to the danger of an Ammunition Reloading Machine left unattended for several years at the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA) on Mountain View Avenue in Eastern St Andrew, a member of that organisation has claimed.

The member said that the children were even “operating” the machine in total ignorance of the potential danger that it could have caused them.

Ian Causwell, a member of the JRA, wrote to the chief executive officer of the Firearm Licensing Authority, Dr Kenroy Wedderburn, and expressed his unease with the housing of the machine at the JRA and asked that a searchlight be turned on the situation, with a view to starting a probe.

This latest development in the saga comes as the court granted bail recently to a Manchester-based man accused of illegally importing an Ammunition Reloading Machine into Jamaica late last year.

The machine was seized by customs officials and police personnel while they conducted a routine check at Port Bustamante in Kingston.

Causwell, in his letter to Dr Wedderburn dated December 18, 2013, cited numerous concerns, including other safety and legal issues.

“As I read the article printed on December 8, 2013 on the front page of the (Sunday) Observer, I became overly concerned, as it seemed to be referring to the reloading machine at the Jamaica Rifle Association,” Causwell wrote.

“The membership has raised the question time and time again on the legality of this machine and has made repeated requests for documentary evidence on its legality, licensing and guidelines of operation.

These requests, however, seemed to have been ignored by the managing committee,” Causwell wrote, further claiming that members in the higher echelons of the Rifle Association knew that the machine was being used in an irregular way and still kept it in an unsafe spot.

The Sunday Observer has learnt that since the publication of the article, the machine has been moved to a more secure location.

“This machine was being operated in an unsecure area, even by schoolchildren, with no obvious sign of accountability and this was done with the knowledge of …. (referring to senior officials of the JRA) and other members of the managing committee,” Causwell wrote.

Causwell said that he expects a full probe into the existence and operation of the machine, and is confident that the FLA will get to the bottom of its seeming mystery.

“I now understand how important it is that equipment with these capabilities should carry high levels of responsibility, security and accountability, as falling into the wrong hands could result in more chaos and gun crimes in our society,” Causwell said.

“I hope that bringing this to your attention will urge you to conduct a thorough investigation of this machine and ensure that all requirements and guidelines for its possession and operation are being adhered to under the law,” he added.

The Sunday Observer, without initially calling the name of the location, had revealed that another Ammunition Reloading Machine was in Jamaica, although security authorities were not fully aware of its existence. It followed the seizure of the one at Port Bustamante last November 28.

Dr Wedderburn confirmed that he had received Causwell’s letter, and that talks were ongoing to deal with some of the points raised by the gun club member.

“We have started some preliminary discussions regarding the machine,” Dr Wedderburn told the Sunday Observer. “It is a very old machine and we don’t see it as a big risk, but they (JRA) have the machine and it is secured,” he said.

Dr Wedderburn argued that there was a need for more discussion on the machine’s history and use, but declined to say more, as he viewed the matter as sensitive.

At the time of the November seizure, police officials said that it was the first of its kind to enter the island. The machine seized at Port Bustamante has the capability to make over 1,000 rounds of ammunition per hour, according to persons equipped with that level of expertise.

Arising from that find, questions were raised by those who had knowledge of the other machine at the JRA, regarding the frequency with which it was being used and the controls established in the process of distributing bullets.

However, one security source who said that he was well aware of how both machines functioned, said that the one at the JRA was not as powerful, or as sophisticated as that seized almost two months ago.

The police force’s information arm, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), said that along with the November 28 seizure of the ammunition machine, “3,300 warheads/projectiles” were also confiscated.

“Local police, aided by those from overseas, had traced the origin of the shipment of the items to Florida in the southern United States,” the CCN said, adding that there was continued collaboration between local and international police personnel.

The Ammunition Reloading Machine had been lying at a spot at the JRA for several years, with many of those who went there and saw it apparently not knowing what it was and its purpose.

“Even people from the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) have been to the location, leaned against it and didn’t even know what it was,” a Sunday Observer source said.

“The thing was just thrown down there and a majority of the people who came and went were unaware of its function. It was left in the open, unsupervised and unprotected,” the source added.

In respect of the seizure at Port Bustamante, critics of police investigators blamed law enforcers for not going undercover and allowing someone to come forward and claim the machine.

However, the CCN said that “the best available strategy was employed”. O’Neil Schrouder, 34, was later charged with breaches of the Importation of Dangerous Explosives Act, the importation of prohibited goods, and making a false declaration, when he voluntarily surrendered to police.

He was offered bail in the sum of $300,000 on Thursday, January 2, following an application by his lawyer, Queen’s Counsel K Churchill Neita, in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court. He took up the bail offer and is due back in court on February 4 when the matter will be mentioned.

The automotive finishing trader of Three Chains Road in Mandeville turned himself over to police after they had issued a request for him to do so over a month before. Police said that Schrouder’s name and address were on the barrels and boxes which they found.

In court recently, Neita told Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey that Schrouder had bought the items in the United States with a view to establishing his own shooting range and had no illegal intention.

Police sources have also informed the Sunday Observer that they were investigating the possible involvement of another man whom they described as a “major individual” in the legal gun trade, who may be able to assist with their probe.