Guadeloupe: Six arrested after the attacking of a customs office

Six people were arrested following the November attack on the customs office in Pointe-à-Pitre, according to the public prosecutor of Guadeloupe's capital city.

Tuesday, 14th December 2021

Guadeloupe: Six arrested after the looting of a customs room

Six people were arrested following the November attack on the customs office in Pointe-à-Pitre, according to the public prosecutor of Guadeloupe's capital city. "Six people were brought into custody," according to Patrick Desjardins, the public prosecutor of Pointe-à-Clown, including "four (who) were presented on Monday with a view to an indictment for aggravated theft." Mr Desjardins stated, "Requests for custody have been taken" against four men apprehended Thursday, "including a minor." Theft with a vengeance The two youngest were not known to the police, according to the prosecutor, but the other two - 47 and 27 - are "seasoned delinquents whose profile leads us to believe virtually probably that their objective was quite specific." "It was a question of hitting this customs office," he said. Theft aggravated by three circumstances - joint action, break and enter, and degradation - as well as possession and acquisition of firearms in a partnership are all charges they face. On Sunday, two guys, ages 20 and 23, were detained and remained in custody as of Monday evening. The prosecution remarked that they "also fit the characteristics of experienced delinquents." The suspects were identified by DNA fingerprints, he said. "The tactics used are appropriate to the facts, which are severe, sensitive, and vital," said Colonel Vincent Lamballe, commander of the Pointe-à-Pitre gendarmerie. Several weapons were stolen during the November 19th raid. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Jol Kerleau, the commander of the gendarmerie's research branch, "half a dozen automatic firearms, a submachine gun, and a shotgun" were stolen. He claimed that "they took advantage of the commotion created by public unrest to enter by force" in the chamber with "a forklift that had been taken just nearby to breach the gate" and that "a customs vehicle was set on fire and two safes were robbed." Only one pistol was discovered at this time, in possession of a man who claimed to have purchased it for 2,700 euros via Whatsapp messaging. The Pointe-à-Pitre correctional court gave him to 18 months in prison.