Overview:
Cap-Haïtien’s metropolis legal professional launched Dr. Robins Mompremier after judicial authorities decided he was not liable for firearms and ammunition present in a container his cousin in the US had shipped.
CAP-HAITIEN — Officers have launched from jail an area physician initially arrested on suspicion of arms trafficking after discovering firearms and ammunition in a transport container from the US. They mentioned Dr. Robins Mompremier was not conscious of what was contained in the container despatched by his cousin.
“The packing containers with the weapons weren’t despatched to the physician,” Decide Bimps Noël, the justice of the peace dealing with the case, advised The Haitian Instances on Jan. 28. “The town legal professional detained him to query him. He was solely liable for verifying the container.”
Mompremier was arrested Jan. 23 and held for 4 nights after customs officers discovered weapons inside a container shipped from the U.S. Bimps mentioned Mompremier’s cousin, Kerly Mompremier, had shipped the container by means of Acoordia Delivery.
When the cargo arrived at Cap Terminal S.A. 2 in Quartier-Morin, a commune about 6 miles southeast of Cap-Haïtien, it contained packages addressed to quite a few recipients. In three packages, the officers discovered two rifles, three pistols, 17 magazines and about 3,400 rounds of ammunition. Officers mentioned one field additionally contained two Haitian passports belonging to somebody named Clément Thélusma, alongside together with his telephone quantity and an tackle listed as 26 Gonaïves — elevating suspicion.
Thélusma, in accordance with Noël, had been arrested Dec. 30 on the similar terminal when he arrived to retrieve a separate cargo that contained a rifle, two pistols and about 1,800 rounds of ammunition. He stays detained on the civil jail in Cap-Haïtien.
Noël added that after Thélusma’s arrest, Mompremier contacted authorities to alert them {that a} second field was scheduled to reach beneath his identify.
“Thélusma advised me the weapons have been meant to battle bandits in Gonaïves alongside the police,” Noël mentioned. “However that declare ought to be handled with warning.”
Gang violence has surged within the Artibonite Division, the place Gonaïves is situated, lately. On Nov. 29, a minimum of 12 folks have been killed and a whole lot displaced in Pont-Sondé, a group close to Saint-Marc.
The Jan. 23 operation that led to Mompremier’s arrest was carried out by the Anti-Drug Trafficking Brigade, together with the customs surveillance brigade at Cap Terminal. Authorities additionally performed a separate arms trafficking operation in Quartier-Morin earlier this month.
“We’ve got to do every little thing attainable to curb this,” Noël mentioned. “U.S. authorities, particularly, must strengthen inspections earlier than containers are shipped to Haiti.”