MONTEGO BAY, St James — An attaché of the United States Embassy in Jamaica says the US is finding it daunting to stop the flow of guns into island.

Country attaché, US Postal Inspection Service, US Embassy, Dominick Riley made the disclosure during his address at the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) public forum titled ‘Scamming, Gangs, and Violence in Montego Bay’ on Monday..

The event, which is being held in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development at Montego Bay Cultural Centre, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the nexus of lottery scamming and crime and violence, particularly in resorts.

Riley argued that resource is a key issue when it comes to policing the illicit activity.

“The problem is…resources, because there is so much… the US has 322 million people, roughly, and there are 50 states in the US. In this instance you should say, probably 12 states that would be direct routes to Jamaica…so it is very difficult to police all of that with the number of people that we have in both of our countries,” stated Riley.

“As far as the US cooperating, we have ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives), so this is the main persons responsible for investigating firearms and firearms coming into the country, and being used in countries where they were manufactured somewhere else. You have the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), who have jurisdiction of this country from Santo Domingo. We also have Homeland Security Investigations who investigate firearms as well,” Riley explained.

He insisted that there are three major US agencies working on firearms, but the “task is so daunting that it is difficult to get a grasp of”.

“If we could stop it I promise you we would, but it is one of those things that it is so porous, and it is so much….it is very difficult, and we know that we want to stop that,” Riley said.

The attaché was responding to a question raised by the president of the Press Association of Jamaica, George Davis, during the question-and-answer segment of the panel discussion.

Davis had asked Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey and Riley if they have a road map of where the guns originate from which arrive in Jamaica.

In his response, Bailey stated that while the Jamaica Constabulary Force is aware of guns coming in through the country’s ports, Jamaica does not have a representative in the country of origin. He said Jamaica’s responsibility is to ensure its borders are protected.

He added that Jamaica has a good relationship with the United States and once Jamaica identifies the source of origin, collaboration is sought with the US.

Earlier Monday, Mayor of Montego Bay Homer Davis called on international partners in the fight against crime to assist with stemming the flow of illegal weapons into the island.

Mayor Davis noted that the gun is the weapon of choice in a number of crimes involving lottery-scamming organisations.

The mayor said information garnered from a recent conversation with a member of the police high command has revealed that 99 per cent of the guns recovered in Jamaica are made overseas.

“I am saying to our partners who are here with us this afternoon [that] we need more from you. We need to stop the flow of guns into Jamaica. I remember years gone by when we had major problems with narcotics — we sought the efforts of our partners and as a result of that, the shipments of illegal drugs were greatly reduced during those periods. We would like to see that effort be placed on the table once again. Yes, we are getting help from our partners, but we would love to see more involvement. Probably the police can’t say it, but as mayor and as someone who has resided in this city for the longest while, I am making a special appeal that we make a special effort to see how our partners can help us to reduce the flow of guns,” beseeched Davis.

The mayor, who is a former member of the police force, pointed to law enforcement statistics which suggest that over 75 per cent of homicides and shootings in Jamaica are committed with guns.

“And so, if we can stop the flow of guns, we would not empower these gangsters or these scammers. There wouldn’t be anything for them to buy,” stated Mayor Davis.

“We are not in agreement with scamming; we know that people have suffered immensely, we know that pensioners have suffered immensely as a result of these scammers, so we are not in support. But we are saying help us to police our space. Help us to restrict the flow of arms,” the mayor pleaded.