The revelation was made by Home Affairs Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte who expressed her concern over the missing weapon.

Poyotte disclosed that law enforcement officers conducted an operation, called Operation Clean Sweep, at the Facility to ascertain the firearm, but to no avail.

“Right now, the matter has been referred to the Public Service Commission so that the appropriate action can be taken,” the Minister revealed on November 27, 2023. The Public Service Commission is the only body that can appoint, dismiss, or discipline public servants. “Whatever report [BCF] have, they have submitted it to the Public Service Commission - that’s the body that determines the outcomes of the nature of what has happened there,” she explained. The Minister also disclosed that the senior officer remains on duty until the Commission has made a ruling.

“I am extremely concerned about that matter and it’s not just a matter of concern,” she said.

According to her, the government has put steps in place to ensure the safety of inmates and staff.

“You’d notice that we have taken steps. One of them is to protect the institution. Therefore, we had an operation that actually checked the entire compound. It cost the government quite a bit of money to inspect the entire institution to ensure that this gun was not in the possession of anybody in the compound. The report of this operation revealed that there was no sight of this gun on the compound,” Poyotte explained.

While the operation did not yield the firearm, 1,500 other contraband items were found and confiscated.