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Thieves Took Trove of Weapons From Gun Dealer, Cops Got It Back
posted (February 12, 2019)
Tonight, the police have recovered a stockpile of weapons which almost made it unto the streets of Belize City, after thieves broke into a gun store.

Early this morning, Victor L Bryant, a gun vendor on Lake I Boulevard, was burglarized, and a large quantity of firearms - including high powered rifles and pistols were stolen.

But, quick police work saw the cops deploy immediately, and sharp investigative work led them to retrieve these 18 firearms, and several thousand live rounds of ammunition, which had been stashed in several hiding spots across the City.

Police have detained several men, but they continue to be concerned that that some fo the guns have still not been recovered.

Our news team has been following this story from since this morning, and Daniel Ortiz reports on what police are calling a "breach of National Security":

Daniel Ortiz reporting
These 18 firearms, all neatly laid out with several thousand rounds of ammunition, all belong to businessman Phillip Gallaty, who owns Victor L Bryant, a gun retailer on Chetumal Boulevard.

Several men broke into the business place early this morning and helped themselves to a large quantity of the store's stock of weapons and ammunition.

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"What happened there is a breach of National Security. Imagine having these amount of firearms and ammunitions on the streets of Belize City or anywhere in the country."

Realizing the danger this posed to public safety, the cop engaged in several paramilitary operations in different parts of the city. Good police work led them to retrieve all of these weapons within hours after after they were stolen fro Victor L Bryant.

Sr. Supt Marco Vidal, Commander - Operations
"Subsequent investigations by The police has led to the discovery of several of these weapons in different areas whithin that southside of Belize City and the Belama areas. So far the police have recovered two .22 revolvers, three .38 revolvers as well, five 12-gauge pump action shotgun and eight .22 rifles. Also in different areas the police discovered 4,000 9mm rounds, 150 .38 rounds and 750 12-gauge cartridges. The investigation is still ongoing and other areas are being searched at this time. A total of 9 persons are currently detained. One of these persons his house was search where also drugs were found. I think just over 4 kilograms of marijuana was found. So he will also be charged for that offence."

At this time, police don't know if they have managed to retrieve all the stolen weapons, and so, they want to do an inventory check at Gallaty's gun store.

Sr. Supt Marco Vidal, Commander - Operations "We are yet to establish the entire inventory for the establishment to establish how much are still missing or if we have discovered all of the stolen weapons."

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"I have directed senior superintendent Ramirez who is the officer in charge of dangerous goods unit here in Belmopan, whose task is to ensure that guns dealers are inspected on a regular basis. He is currenltly in Belize City. He is doing an inventory of Victor L. Bryant as well as to do an in-depth inspection of the premises to see whether or not the premises is conducive to a place that should, where firearms supposed to be kept especially firearms in large quantity. So by the end of the day today we will be able to know exactly if we have recovered all that is missing."

And from police's perspective, they aren't so sure that this particular gun dealer had these dangerous weapons properly secured.

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"When you are a license firearm holder, you have a heavy responsibility in ensuring that your firearm is not lost or stolen or to be used by any unauthorized persons in the commission of any act. When you are a firearm dealer, that responsibility is multiplied ten-fold. From what I saw on the scene this morning, the structure that houses Victor L Bryant's gun dealer is not suitable. The law is that you must have a safe place, basically a strong house to be able to store firearms, especially firearms of the magnitude that Victor L Bryant had. The fact that the building is just a zinc building and the main entrance door is practically made of plywood, surely the building is not conducive for firearms to be kept and as a result of that, I directed Mr. Ramirez to do proper inspection and we have taken into our custody all firearms that were being kept at Victor L Bryant, so those firearms are now in the custody of the police. So, I have tasked Mr. Ramirez to prepare for me his inspection report and based on that I will be writing Mr. Gallaty to show reasons why his gun dealer license should not be revoked and if satisfactory reasons cannot be given then his gun dealer license will be revoked. We cannot have people who are supposed to be responsible doing things that will create havoc within our society."

The Commissioner says that this burglary should serve as a warning to other gun dealers, because police are seeking to ensure that there is no repeat of this type of incident.

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"We really have to take a serious look at gun dealers to ensure that they are in compliance with the law as it relates to how firearms are ammunitions are to be kept and I am sounding the warning now that we would be doing inspections at the other gun dealers to ensure that there is conformity as it relates to how these ammunitions and firearms are to be kept by them before they are sold to any person who would want to go and buy from them."

Our reports say that two shotguns and two .22 rifles may still be unaccounted for.

And while the police have earned praise for their quick work, we have to note that burglars targeted this seem business last Friday. Police say the owner reported to police that nothing was taken. But still, we are told that the surveillance cameras at the business place captured the faces of these individuals and no arrests were made.

While police would not confirm this, they did tell us that they are reviewing surveillance footage which may form part of their investigation into this morning's break-in.

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