Trinidad and Tobago is awash with guns. Gang leaders, bandits, drug smugglers are armed and shooting at each other, at citizens, at the police without hesitation. The majority of the weapons are small arms and they are usually "imported" with illegal drugs or there is an exchange of drugs for arms. Drug cartels use their illicit profits to purchase these guns, the two trades being intertwined, according to the latest report from the United Nations Office for Disarmament... (GunPolicy.org)

An international police operation has dismantled a network in which Colombian rebel group the FARC allegedly attempted to exchange cocaine for weapons from the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. The investigation, involving US, Colombian, Portuguese, and Guinea-Bissau authorities, lasted over a year, reported EFE. Colombian police arrested two men in Bogota who are accused of serving as as the FARC's intermediaries for the West Africa-based weapons suppliers. On... (GunPolicy.org)

DAKAR, Senegal - The Movement against Light Weapons in West Africa (MALA0), in partnership with civil society organizations, among them Présence chrétienne and SOS Equilibre, on Monday in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, launched a week-long action against armed violence. The 10-16 May initiative, launched for the first time in 2001, aims at stopping the proliferation and the excessive use of small arms in the world. The initiative will also sensitize and campaign for... (GunPolicy.org)

The Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the ECOWAS Small Arms and Light Weapons Programme (ECOSAP), last Tuesday began a two-day meeting on ECOSAP Cluster "A" review and planning for national commissions on small arms and light weapons, held at the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi. The meeting which comprised of delegates from Cape Verde, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia, is organized within the framework of the sub-regional initiative, spearheaded by... (GunPolicy.org)

The huge consignment of weapons found in the Ukrainian cargo plane now detained at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano was procured by the Ministry of Defence of Equatorial Guinea, the crew members of the detained plane told security agents yesterday. They insisted that they were on their way to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, to deliver the arms consignment from the former Soviet Republic of the Ukraine when the plane stopped over in Kano to... (GunPolicy.org)

CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) police chiefs have created a committee to fight arms trafficking through tighter controls of legal arms sales. The PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) has suggested to the CPLP chiefs of police a harmonization of legislation relating to the trade and transport of firearms. The objective is to prevent the considerable number of weapons circulating legally between these countries falling into criminal hands. The CPLP... (GunPolicy.org)

BISSAU — The government of Guinea-Bissau must work on several fronts to cut the number of light weapons in the country — estimated at some 650,000. Regional instability, crime and weak governance toughen the battle, observers say. Widespread possession of weapons among civilians is fallout from years of war, according to Antonio Mazzittelli, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in West Africa. "The availability of light weapons is left over from the... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: Seven alleged drug traffickers from Guinea-Bissau were arrested in Senegal with 'weapons of war' according to Amadou Ndaw, Chief of the Regional Anti-Drug Brigade]. Les sept personnes récemment arrêtés à Mpack (dizaine de Km de Ziguinchor) par la Brigade régionale de lutte contre les drogues étaient en possession de "véritables armes de guerre", a affirmé mercredi le Chef de cette brigade. Ces individus, des Bissau-guinéens et des... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: In Guinea-Bissau, the prefecture of Koumbia publicly incinerated 354 guns and light weapons]. Conakry — Dans la sous préfecture de Koumbia à Gaoual, les autorités civiles et militaires ont procédé samedi 9 juin dernier, à l'incinération de quelques 354 armes légères. Selon les observateurs, ces armes, circulaient dans les différentes frontières entre la Guinée , le Sénégal, la Gambie et la Guinée Bissao , il y a 60 ans ! … La... (GunPolicy.org)

Guinea-Bissau's army will undertake a major operation to continue seizing small arms illegally held by the public across the whole country, said reports over the weekend. "What happened on the outskirts of Bissau on Friday night is only the beginning. I can assure you that the operation to seize illegal arms will continue across the whole nation," said armed forces chief of general staff Baptista Tagme Na Waie on Sunday Waie said the measure is aimed to fight crime... (GunPolicy.org)

Bissau — Security forces in Guinea Bissau on Tuesday night arrested over 500 persons and seized several arms in the southeastern city of Gabu, the secretary of state for public order, Baciro Dabo confirmed here Thursday. Dabo said the weapons, including Kalachnikov guns and Makarov rifles, were seized in a systematic search operation of all houses in Gabu, the country's third largest city, aimed at reducing crime which is assuming alarming proportions countrywide.... (GunPolicy.org)

BISSAU — Guinea-Bissau will launch an awareness campaign next week to alert people to the dangers of small arms, of which an estimated 25 000 are in circulation in the impoverished west African country, police said on Friday. Last year was "characterised by a very high crime rate in the capital, Bissau, where 1 128 crimes were recorded," said police chief Alexandre Forbs. "Most of the crimes reported to the police were committed using handguns and resulted from... (GunPolicy.org)