25,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers were seized in Port-de-Paix during the night of July 12-13, 2022. These cartridges were found aboard a bus that was about to travel to Port-au-Prince, reports Wilguens Devilas, the reporter for Zoom Haiti News, on site in the capital of the North-West department. The citizen Churchill Petit-Frère, who was providing the transportation, was arrested on the orders of the Deputy Government Commissioner Wisminder Louis.
Judge Paul Blanc proceeded to the legal report. The cartridges were confiscated and the vehicle was detained at the Port-de-Paix police station.
On July 1, the police and judicial authorities of the city of Port-de-Paix informed that they had carried out a large-scale operation at the city’s wharf, which resulted in the confiscation of 120,000 cartridges, divided into 157 boxes, 114,000 of which were of 5.56 caliber, 2,000 of 9mm caliber, and 4,000 of 7.62 caliber, in contrast to the figures provided by Mr. Michelet Virgile, the Government Commissioner at the time, who reported the day before the seizure of 128 boxes containing more than 700 rounds.
The head of the Port-de-Paix court ordered the release, five (5) days later, of Jonas Georges and Fritz Jean Relus, who were arrested for allegedly trafficking arms and ammunition as part of this scandal. In reaction, the Ministry of Justice dismissed Mr. Michelet Virgile for serious administrative errors and replaced him with Mr. Bertin Vital as head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Mr. Michelet Virgile was subsequently arrested on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, by agents of the Bureau of Financial and Economic Affairs (BAFE). He is to be transferred shortly to the capital to answer questions from the judicial and financial police.
A wanted notice has been issued against the deputy director of legal affairs of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Fritz Aubourg, who is allegedly linked to this case, according to information received.
Other people are actively sought by the police. This is the case of Marie Guirlène Estimable, Wilfrid Estimable and Eddy Lafrance.
