THE Ministry of Home Affairs Inter-Agency Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons, has said credit must be given to the Joint Services for the excellent work they have done and continue to do in ridding the streets of illicit weapons.

A press statement, issued after a recent meeting, stated that for last year, 144 illegal firearms were seized as compared to 143 in 2006.

The Task Force is, however, convinced that the situation is not one that is out of control as in the case in other countries.

The group noted, with deep concern, that a large quantity of high-powered weapons have not been accounted for and are missing.

It said the weapons in question were issued by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to a government agency under the previous People’s National Congress (PNC) administration.

The statement said the concern of the Task Force is based on the fact that some of the guns, as manifested at Zeskendren, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, have ended up in the hands of criminal elements.

It added that, at this point, given that the other firearms associated with those found at Mahaicony cannot be accounted for, they, therefore, must be deemed illicit.

“This expose, in the Task Force’s view, fuels the speculation in certain quarters that there are large quantities of illegal weapons out there,” the statement said.

The statement continued that such speculations, many of them wild and unfounded, contrast significantly with the consistent efforts by the law enforcement agencies to stem the proliferation of illicit weapons in Guyana.