The police and judicial authorities of the city of Port-de-Paix have carried out a large-scale operation on Friday, July 1, 2022. The Haitian National Police reported on Saturday that 120,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated at the city’s wharf, distributed in 157 boxes, including 114,000 rounds of 5.56 caliber ammunition, 2,000 rounds of 9mm caliber ammunition, and 4,000 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition, instead of the 128 boxes containing more than 700 rounds of ammunition of different calibers that were initially announced by the Port-de-Paix government commissioner, Michelet Virgile, on the previous day.
The PNH informs that it searched, with the support of Customs agents, the home of Edy Lafrance, confirming the seizure of two (2) pistols of 9mm caliber, a revolver of 38 caliber, in addition to accessories (magazines, cases), cash, in foreign and local currency, 3,890 U.S. dollars and 814,343 gourdes. According to initial information, the weapons discovered by the police were imported from the United States and transported to Port-de-Paix aboard a cargo ship called Lilie,” the police force said in a statement.
The police proceeded to arrest Fritz Jean Relus, on the instructions of the Public Prosecutor of the Port-de-Paix Court of First Instance, Mr. Michelet Virgile, on the grounds of complicity in the illicit trafficking of firearms.
Marie Guirlène Estimable, Wilfrid Estimable and Edy Lafrance, suspected of being involved in this vast operation of illicit trafficking of ammunition are currently being sought by the departmental branch of the DCPJ (Central Directorate of Judicial Police) adds the PNH.
The public security entity indicates that these interventions are part of the execution by the Departmental Directorate of the North-West, of a special security plan developed by the Chief Commander a.i. of the PNH, Frantz ELBÉ. The objective is to fight against ”big banditry and crime in all its forms”.
The forces of order in the North-West department have been very active lately. On June 24, they arrested four (4) individuals for illicit drug trafficking, in a joint operation with their brothers in Artibonite.
The individuals concerned were caught in flagrante delicto with seven (7) kilos of white substance and a 9mm caliber revolver, during a targeted search following relevant information on the probable existence of narcotics on board a white Nissan pick-up truck, without license plates, which would transport a shipment of cocaine.
The four (4) offenders were intercepted by the UDMO of the North-West who patrols the Ti Bois-d’homme section commonly called VAR, around 10:15 PM. The police officers from Artibonite quickly joined those from the North-West to secure the scene and take charge of the case, given that the infraction was committed in the jurisdiction of Artibonite.
Two (2) weeks ago, the Departmental Directorate of the North-West confirmed having neutralized nine (9) armed gangs out of the ten (10) active gangs in the department: seven (7) in Port-de-Paix, one (1) in the commune of Bassin Bleu and one (1) in the commune of Saint Louis du Nord.
