USA-based Guyanese man held with firearm in Port Mourant

Guyana: A man from Guyana, who is currently based in the United States of America, was booked by police officers after a search at the entrance of a horse race meet in Port Mourant, on Sunday, 31 March, around 2:00 pm, under the offence of possessing a firearm with ammunition without any license. The suspects also tried to offer a bribe of five hundred thousand dollars to the on-duty police officers for his release.

Tony Danraj Mootoosammy is the disclosed name of the suspect who was arrested by the officers with a firearm in Port Mourant, a town eastern part of the Atlantic coast in Corentyne, Berbice region of Guyana.

Mootoosammy is a 46-year-old man, who is a farmer by profession and belongs to the locality of Bath Mahaicony in East Coast Demerara in Guyana, while in the United States of America, he lives in New Jersey.

The man was in the Guyana for the time and was at the location to attend the Annual Easter Sunday Horse Race Meet where he was stopped by the on-duty officers to conduct a search. In the search, the police officers found a firearm possessed by the suspect, which was a black Sig Sauer Pistol of the P365 model.

The police officers also recovered a magazine loaded with ten counts of live 9 mm ammunition. The man was carrying the firearm on the right side of his pants waist. As the man was carrying the gun at a public gathering, the police officers assumed the firearm to be in legal possession and asked for the license from the suspect.

In response, the suspect replied back that he forgot the license in his van which he left at his home. On the demand of identification, the man provided his driver’s license from the United States of America and Guyana to the police officers.

The police officers asked the man to call his family and ask them to bring the license to the place, which was also refused by him as allegedly his whole family was at the Hose Race Meet. After not getting any authentic response, the police officers took the suspect to the Whim Police Station.

At the police station, the man was asked by the officers to arrange his proof of authority to possess the firearm, through a valid license or its copy with the help of his family members or any friend. After a stretched question and answer session, the suspect disclosed to the officers that he did not have any license to carry the firearm.

After his acceptance of carrying a firearm illegally, the police officers filed a case against him, in which the suspect tried to bribe the officers for five hundred thousand dollars cash. However, the officers took him under custody in the Port Mourant case of possessing a firearm. The proceedings in the case are ongoing.