PHILIPSBURG--Police announced on Monday that they had arrested three persons for illegal gun and drug possession.
A woman reported to the Police headquarters in Philipsburg on Saturday morning that her life and that of her friend had been threatened by a man on Cannegieter Street. She also said the man, who was with other persons at the time, was in the possession of a firearm.
On arriving at the scene, the investigating officers saw a man standing next to a white vehicle with licence-plate P-6830, while another man sat in the driver’s seat of the car. The officers recognised this person as very well-known to police. This man took off running when he noticed the police had arrived at the scene.
The officers also saw a Hyundai I-10 with licence plate P-4292 parked at the same location. Two men were standing next to this vehicle while another was sitting in the driver’s seat. One of the men standing outside of this vehicle was recognised as K.L.B., also very well-known to the police.
K.L.B. started behaving very suspiciously with both hands in his pockets and refused to take them out on orders of the officers. During a search of K.L.B. which he resisted heavily, a black Glock .22 calibre pistol, a gun holster and two small plastic bags containing an amount of marijuana were found and confiscated. K.L.B. was arrested on the spot.
As the investigation continued on the scene, a search was also done in the Hyundai I-10. During this search another pistol of the brand Raven was found under the front passenger seat along with a plastic bag containing an amount of marijuana. These items were confiscated for further investigation. The driver of the vehicle, identified as S.R., was immediately arrested.
A third vehicle at the location with licence plate P-6828 driven by a man identified as A.J. was also searched. During this search a Ruger pistol, a bulletproof vest and a plastic bag containing an amount of marijuana were found and confiscated. A.J. was also arrested in connection with this investigation.
All confiscated items were taken to the Philipsburg police headquarters along with the three suspects, who remain in custody for further investigation.
Police Chief Carl John commended the investigating officers for their swift and effective handling of this investigation and for successfully removing three more illegal guns from the streets of St. Maarten.
