IAST head detained with ammo in Trinidad

Dec 17, 2008 News

Head of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Dr. Suresh Narine, was detained in Trinidad with 12 rounds of 9mm ammunition after departing Guyana on a Caribbean Airlines flight via the VIP lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Kaieteur News was told yesterday that Dr. Narine, who is an associate professor at the University of Alberta, was on his way to Miami for a meeting after departing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
According to reports, Dr. Narine was busted in Trinidad on Sunday with the ammunition in the magazine in his hand luggage.
This newspaper was told that, following the discovery, Narine explained that he was a licensed firearm holder and that he had forgotten the magazine in his bag.
Following his explanation, the ammunition was seized and the professor proceeded to his meeting in the United States.
The bag in which the ammunition was found was cleared by local immigration authorities at CJI airport less than an hour prior to the discovery in Trinidad.
On Monday, Minister of Transport Robeson Been said that police have launched an investigation into the incident.
He has since said that such an incident is a major compromise of the airport security.
At present investigators are questioning airport personnel to determine how Dr. Narine was permitted into the VIP lounge with the ammunition.
On November 29 last, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, admitted that cocaine and other illegal items, including victims of human trafficking, might have been passing through the Cheddi Jagan International Airport via the VIP and Executive lounges.
This is, he said, as a result of weaknesses and lack of coordination in the area.
Dr. Luncheon said that there will be a review of the access to and operating procedures at the two lounges.
There have been reports, he said, of non-conformity with the established rules and procedures governing access and use of the facilities.
This has resulted in events that impinge on security, Customs and immigration operations.
Reports suggested that there might have been some exploitation of the failure to adequately coordinate, and things might have fallen through the ‘cracks’, Dr. Luncheon added.
He added that cameras have been installed, but Cabinet is not satisfied that enough cameras have been installed, while at the same time concerns have been raised about the placements of the cameras.
Dr. Luncheon’s statement came days after the son of a Minister had breached the protocols at the VIP lounge.
This Minister’s son was allowed the duty-free entry of cellular phones into the country through the VIP lounge for a Robb Street cell-phone dealership.
Dr. Narine is one of many Guyanese to have been caught with a gun or ammunition in his luggage following departure from the CJIA.
Asgar Ally, who was a Minister of Finance in Guyana, was caught in Canada under similar circumstances. Ally had gone to Canada for a three-week stay.
On October 13, 1998, he was to fly to New York City to visit his son, but while at the airport an x-ray scanner detected a gun in his briefcase. It was a 7.65 mm handgun.
Ally was subsequently charged for possession of an unregistered restricted weapon.
A Provincial Court Judge subsequently discharged the case after Ally agreed to make a donation to groups which promote safe handling of firearms.
Retired pathologist Dr Edward Simon was also held with a firearm in Trinidad. He too had cleared Customs and other security personnel at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

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IAST head detained with ammo in Trinidad

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IAST head detained with ammo in Trinidad

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