The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Royal Bahamas Police Force has launched a Firearm Trafficking and Criminal Justice training programme aimed at strengthening officers’ ability to disrupt the flow of illicit firearms into The Bahamas.

Speaking at the opening ceremony yesterday, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe thanked the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, CARICOM IMPACS, and the Government of Germany for their collaboration and support in addressing the threat posed by illegal firearms.

Mr Munroe said the trafficking of illicit weapons is a daily reality that threatens community safety, fuels gang violence, empowers criminal enterprises, and undermines the rule of law.

The four-day training programme, delivered by experts from UNODC and CARICOM IMPACS, is designed to enhance the capacity of law enforcement, judicial, and border control agencies. Participants will receive advanced instruction in firearms identification and detection, intelligence analysis, investigative techniques, and international cooperation.

During a press conference at Police Headquarters yesterday, officials also received a donation of surveillance drones from UNODC.

“These drones will work in collaboration with other crime-fighting techniques and enhance our ability to monitor our vast borders,” Mr Munroe said. “This donation is a testament to innovation and practical partnership — a dual approach of investing in human expertise through training and technological tools.”

Roberto Codesal, crime prevention and criminal justice officer at UNODC, said the organisation remains committed to working with The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations to address gun violence and firearm trafficking through sustained collaboration.

In August 2025, more than 1,400 firearms were destroyed as part of the government’s efforts to prevent seized weapons from re-entering circulation. A total of 1,428 firearms — including seized weapons and obsolete government stockpiles — were encased in concrete at the Internal Security Division of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

That exercise, conducted in partnership with the Mines Advisory Group, CARICOM IMPACS, and the US Embassy, represented approximately 20 percent of the estimated 7,000 firearms held by police.

Mr Munroe said at the time the destruction exercise demonstrated the government’s commitment to both the safe disposal of illicit weapons and improved stockpile management.