NINETEEN FIREARMS AND NUMEROUS ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION ARE STOLEN FROM A SECURITY COMPANY IN MONTEGO BAY!

A major police investigation is under way into the theft of 19 firearms and numerous rounds of assorted ammunition from a security company in Montego Bay, St James, one of three western parishes now under a state of public emergency.

It is understood that the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) is also part of the probe. However, its CEO, Shane Dalling, could not be reached yesterday to detail the involvement of the agency.

Police investigators are probing whether the break-in was facilitated by anyone linked to the company.

“As far as I know, the matter is being treated as a case of larceny, but the police are not ruling out the probability that this could have been an inside job,” said one senior investigator.

The Gleaner understands that sometime between Labour Day and Friday, May 24, thieves made their way into the establishment and removed the firearms.

They also stole three motorcycles and two desktop computers, along with the recording device attached to the closed-circuit television system.

The 67-year-old director of the security company reportedly told police that he securely locked the office, located on the compound of the Ironshore Estate in Ironshore, Montego Bay, before he left the establishment on Labour Day.

He reportedly returned a day later to discover that several padlocks on the grilles and doors had been broken.

Further investigations revealed that the metal safe containing the company firearms had been forced open and the guns gone missing.

Police sources say the security company has been experiencing a downturn in business.

They are also probing a claim that some of the firearm users’ permits for security guards were not certified by the FLA.