The import of firearm and ammunition for sale to private individuals has been prohibited since 2006. Nonetheless, these items are still entering the country and being sold. How does this happen? The answer is through contraband, according to the people in the know. The government restriction ordered by Decree 309-06 sought to reduce crime and homicides committed with firearms, but it also resulted in a sharp rise in contraband and the price of the weapons has increased to unprecedented levels.
According to the Attorney General’s office, in 2005, before the ban on importing weapons, 1,774 homicides were committed with handguns, and this went down to 1,586 in 2006 – when the decree entered into effect. Nevertheless, for 2010, the number was 1,726 homicides and in 2011 it went down to 1,711, hardly a significant reduction from 2005. Illegal traffickers target criminals as the best customers and the authorities confiscate arsenals of handguns, and semi-automatic and automatic rifles in many of their operations. They also find equipment that has been stolen, even from military and Police personnel.
In just 90 days in 2011, the National Police seized 3,000 weapons which they presume came from Haiti. The business sector of armories, as well as the private security companies that need to supply themselves with weapons and munitions, claim with some reservations that people “with considerable power” are behind this contraband. In 2010, the authorities dismantled a gang that brought in firearms with the support of Customs Agency (DGA) officials assigned to the Santiago office.
Continuing with its series on possession and use of weapons, on Wednesday, 3 April Diario Libre focuses on misuse of weapons by private guards who total almost the same in number as policemen in the Dominican Republic. The report highlights the deficiencies in their training. At the same time it recommends that the private guard services with a fleet of around 500 vehicles registered for patrolling should join up with the police.
www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2013/04/03/i377693_armas-mortales-manos-vigilantes-inexpertos.html
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/04/02/i377547_prohibicion-armas-que-alimento-contrabando.html