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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

‘No automatic rifles in cargo’ |11 June 2013

The article appeared in the May 31, 2013 issue of Le Seychellois Hebdo newspaper.

The ministry confirmed that certain items, being military-type webbing gear and other items that were requested and ordered by allied naval military forces which had been in Port Victoria at the time, were delivered and received by the cargo terminal at the Seychelles International Airport.

The communiqué adds that the cargo did not contain “automatic rifles and grenades” as reported by the newspaper.

“The shipments of arms and ammunition, when they do occur into this country, are strictly controlled, following established and internationally recognised protocols,” said Police Commissioner Ernest Quatre.

“In this reported instance, ‘guns in a box’, simply did not occur. We do acknowledge, however, that a box was improperly delivered but there were no weapons, grenades or guns of any type as alleged. Appropriate remedial measures have been taken to address this shortfall, in this instance with the agency responsible, for not delivering the proper item to the correct delivery address,” he added.

The ministry has reiterated that reports and news items in the press must be factual and that despite the urge for certain media houses to sensationalise an issue at times, information should be published in a manner that does not create panic or uncertainty. 

“In this instance, in an attempt to turn fiction into fact, the newspaper, without an effort to confirm the story as would be expected, turned a simple case of incorrect delivery of unidentified items into one of mystery and concealment,” adds the communiqué.

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