Dalling cites rift between some gun dealers and FLA
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Shane Dalling, the chief executive officer of the Firearm Licensing Authority ( FLA) has said nefarious characters with big stakes in the guns and ammunition business, including some firearm dealers, have been plotting against him and have made numerous attempts to have him ousted from his position
During an FLA press conference on Tuesday, held at the AC Hotel in St Andrew, Dalling declared that his days of remaining silent about questionable and corrupt activities affecting the FLA were over. Dalling took that stance following recent attacks on his character and reputation as CEO of the entity by people who he said were of the opinion he is bad for business.
Regarding firearm dealers, the FLA CEO said some of them have been resisting the regulations he has put in place, especially ammunition accountability. The FLA boss told the OBSERVER ONLINE on Tuesday that there are 17 firearm dealers across Jamaica with two in Kingston, five in St James and ten distributed over the other parishes.
Dalling shared that in 2017 he implemented a measure that required accountability for “every single firearm and ammunition that is sold by a dealer”. He said he was taken to court over it.
“It begs the question, whether this is contributing to the very crime problem. Where you have criminals with licensed firearms having access to legal rounds of ammunition, it compromises the national security of the country. The dealer stated in his court documents that since we implemented the accountability measures, sales had fallen by 80 per cent. They said persons were unwilling to buy because they would now be required to track and account for every single round of ammunition.
“There is resistance against the proper documentation and regulation of the sales, especially of ammunition. We have strengthened accountability in ensuring that we meet the importation of firearms and ammunition at the airport. Prior, dealers could take in firearms and ammunition and take them directly to their business place [where they were to be checked]. What we are doing now is ensuring that a team from the FLA actually meets the firearms at the airport and have them checked off before they are released to the dealers,” Dalling said in response to a question from the OBSERVER ONLINE on a seeming rift between himself and the dealers.
Dalling shared that when he became CEO in June 2017, he noticed clear signs of corruption at the FLA and began implementing measures to curtail those activities. However, some of the checks and balances he said he brought in were not favourable to many people who were benefiting from an industry that raked in $1.2 billion in a year at one point.
“During the period (2014-2017) where persons were getting gun licenses under questionable circumstances, everybody made money from it. The ranges made money because each time you attend the range for training, you had to pay. The dealers made money because they were selling far more firearms and ammunition.
“In fact, during the period in one year, dealers sold $1.2 billion worth of firearms based on the share volume of persons getting gun licenses. The dealership across the country benefited from corrupt practices of the FLA. Based on the restriction and approach being taken now, it has resulted in far less persons getting firearm licenses and the board has been quite stringent in its decision as to who gets firearm licenses. That has led to a lowering of the sales, and by extension, the profits.”
Dalling added that gun dealers and several other persons have launched campaigns to have him stripped of his title as CEO of the private firearm regulating authority.
“The chairman of the board has been lobbied extensively by special interest groups who wanted to force his hands not to renew my contract two years ago. They have lobbied Members of Parliament to push the government in that direction.
“The board has taken a stance to revoke all licenses that were issued under questionable circumstances. It has therefore affected a wide cross-section of the country. Persons who had firearms for years, they are being revoked. Naturally, it would affect sales and it affects those individuals who sold them the license in the first place. While I understand the attacks that persons have launched on social media, I am not going to relent in terms of policies that are implemented,” Dalling said.
He stressed that he will not be shying away from interviews with the media regarding controversial matters at the FLA and said he is willing to show the public the extent and nature of several persons with licensed firearms who should not have them.
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