Based on the firearms recovered by the police, it has long been obvious that the calibre of weaponry being toted around by criminals in Jamaica costs far more than what they are actually able to afford.

After all, while undoubtedly some do rake in considerable income from their looting and pillaging, in many instances impoverished youths are caught with firearms which are simply beyond their financial capacity.

So, obviously, the money to buy the weapons has to be coming from somewhere and, in the case of a crime-ridden Montego Bay, in yesterday's Gleaner a high-ranking policeman told the nation at large where some of the funding was coming from.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Denver Frater, who is in charge of Area One, told The Gleaner that "if you look in recent times at the calibre weapons that are recovered by the police, the numbert of rounds, ammunition being expended and recovered at crime scenes and the motives, investigations point to the lottery scam".

So, it would seem, there are some criminals in the west who are gambling (or, at least, preying on other Americans' gullibility over gambling) on building a personal army. Because if the intention was criminality only, then the surplus of guns would not be necessary.

However, every army must have a headquarters, even a small illegal one. And even if the arms are not stored at that headquarters, then certainly the owners and residents must know something of its operations.

Sudden rise in assets

Hence, we find it interesting that ACP Frater could go on to say that "if you look at some communities, the sudden rise to fame in terms of assets (such as) houses and motor cars, these are not cheap. The lifestyles of some persons clearly demonstrate the volume of cash that is being circulated".

We find it incredible that the policeman can make this conclusion, yet the lotto scam and, by extension, the gun-running trade and building of private armies can continue.

And while ACP Frater said that investigations into matters of this nature were not a 'one-slam' affair and action had been and is being taken under the Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering acts, we believe that it would be unwise to gamble on only these approaches. With the tax amnesty still on and the sudden influx of unaccounted-for wealth very obvious, it would be a very good time to have the tax-axe swing at the lottery and illegal arms operations.

We are not, of course, suggesting victimisation; simply that the authorities do not put all their bets on one method of rooting out this pernicious activity. For while the Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering acts make provision for the seizure of ill-gotten gains, applying the tax laws will certainly have caused some disruption in operations at the headquarters of these illegal private forces and, we would hope, a diversion of funds from the purchasing of weaponry.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.