From left: Commodore Roderick Bowe, Commander, Defence Force, Prison Superintendent Dr Elliston Rahming, Minister Tommy Turnquest and Florencia Raskovan, training facilitator for the OAS’s Department of Public Safety (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

The Bahamas has added another tool in its approach to combating the illegal gun trade, taking receipt of a Firearms Marking Machine from the Organization of American States. The handover followed months of negotiations with the OAS that resulted in a joint agreement with the OAS under the organisation’s “Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean” project.

The Bahamas was one of the first countries in the region to sign the agreement, along with Costa Rica, Paraguay and Uruguay. Under the agreement, Bahamian law enforcement officials will receive training for tracking marked firearms.

“The marking of firearms will help us to identify the weapons that have been used in criminal activity and therefore help to combat crime in our country and in the region,” said Bahamian Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest. “This program is very important for the Bahamas because we have become a transit point for drugs and small arms. The marking of firearms helps to combat illicit firearms tracking as it allows authorities to identify the seized weapons to determine their origin.”

OAS Training Facilitator Florencia Raskovan attended the hand-over ceremony yesterday and will conduct training sessions with the device. The Bahamas agreed to mark an average of 100 firearms per month over the next year as part of the agreement.

–Bahamas Information Service