A coordinated multi-unit police operation in the Villa district of Antigua has led to the arrest and formal charging of a 26-year-old local man on firearms and ammunition violations, law enforcement officials announced this week.
Ka-desh Hodge, a resident of Piggott’s, faces two separate charges following the weekend operation carried out on August 23 by a joint team of law enforcement units. Officers from the Criminal Investigations Department Task Force, St. John’s Police Station, Freetown Police Station, the Special Services Unit, and the Narcotics Department combined forces to target potential criminal activity in the Villa area.
During the operation, law enforcement personnel pulled over and searched a motor truck operated by Hodge. Inside the vehicle, investigators discovered a black crossbody bag that concealed a loaded Browning .25 semi-automatic pistol, an ammunition magazine, and seven live rounds of ammunition.
The illegal weapons and ammunition were immediately seized as evidence. Hodge was taken into custody and transported to the St. John’s Police Station for processing, and formal charges were filed on Tuesday, August 25. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Wednesday, August 26 to answer to the charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda says the arrest is part of its ongoing, ramped-up initiative to clear illegal firearms and ammunition from public streets and communities across the nation. In a public statement released via the force’s Office of Strategic Communications, police reiterated their call for community cooperation, urging members of the public to share any information they have about unlicensed weapons or other criminal activity. Tips can be submitted confidentially to the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or through the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline at 800-8477.