FNID charge dual citizen in major firearms seizure at Kingston Port
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Detectives from the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) have charged a man who has dual United States and Jamaican citizenship for last month’s seizure of 66 firearms and over 4,500 rounds of ammunition at Port Bustamante in Kingston.
Thirty-six-year-old Davian Roberts, a truck driver of Columbus, Georgia in the United States and Cooreville Gardens, Kingston 20 was charged on Monday, with trafficking prohibited weapons, and failure to comply with a production prder, under the Cyber Crimes Act.
Reports are that about 1:40 pm on Monday, February 17, personnel from the Jamaica Customs Agency detected anomalies within a shipment and contacted FNID investigators. Both agencies carried out a physical search of the shipment which yielded 50 handguns, 16 rifles, 4,737 assorted rounds of ammunition and 83 assorted magazines.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Davian Roberts was the shipper and intended recipient of the prohibited items, according to lawmen.
An operation was launched on Wednesday, February 19 in Southborough, Portmore in St Catherine and Roberts was apprehended.
On Tuesday, January 25, while the accused was in custody, he was served with a duly signed production order from a judge, which mandated him to provide the passcode for his IPhone 12 Pro. Roberts refused to comply with the order and was subsequently slapped with the additional charge of failure to comply with a production order.
Head of FNID, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Samuel Blake, stated that the division will continue to ramp up efforts to stem the flow of illegal weapons and illicit drugs in the island.
“This seizure and subsequent arrest highlight the efforts of the FNID and our partners in disrupting the flow of illegal weapons into our country. We will ensure those involved in the conspiracy are held accountable, no matter where they operate. We will not tolerate those who threaten the safety and security of Jamaica,” said SSP Blake.
Meanwhile, the public is urged to share information on suspicious activities and illegal weapons by calling Crime Stop at 311, the National Intelligence Bureau at 811 and the Police 119 emergency number.
