In a surprising development that has raised questions about inter-departmental communication and administrative oversight in St. Kitts and Nevis, two Canadian citizens who have been residing in Colquhoun’s Estate on the island of Nevis now face four criminal charges each linked to a large seizure of firearms and ammunition from their home earlier this year.
Robyn Kasha and Kevin Look were formally charged on September 22 during a processing at the Cotton Ground Police Station. The four counts against each individual include illegal importation of firearms, illegal importation of ammunition, unauthorised possession of firearms, and unauthorised possession of ammunition. The legal proceedings stem from a law enforcement seizure that took place on July 9, which immediately sparked public and official debate over how the weapons entered the federation and whether the pair had secured the mandatory legal approval to bring them into the country.
Shortly after the seizure, Deputy Commissioner of Police Cromwell Henry shared key context during an official press conference, clarifying that the couple had completed and submitted all required paperwork for an import permit before the weapons were shipped to the islands. Their application included full documentation: a complete roster of the firearms with matching serial numbers, official copies of their valid Canadian firearms licences, and verified passport information for both individuals.
Despite the couple’s proactive completion of the required steps, Henry confirmed that the application was never processed by authorities. The paperwork was submitted via email, and it was accidentally overlooked amid a massive surge in official communications leading up to the annual St. Kitts Music Festival, a major regional event that draws large crowds and generates increased administrative workload for government agencies.
“Somehow we missed it among the list of emails that we got. It was leading up to the music festival, so we would have had quite an influx of emails. And so, we were not able to process that application before the weapons arrived,” Henry explained in his earlier statement.
Henry further added another layer of complexity to the case, noting that the couple had fully declared the firearms to the Customs and Excise Department when the shipping container carrying the weapons arrived in the federation. However, that declaration was never relayed from customs officials to the police force. This communication gap led law enforcement to initially conclude that the weapons had been smuggled into the country without any formal approval.
Based on the full circumstances of the case – including the fact that the couple had submitted all required documentation on time – the police force initially announced that it would not pursue criminal charges against Kasha and Look. The matter was then referred to the Customs and Excise Department to determine whether any charges would be pursued. The recent decision to file formal four counts against the two Canadians marks a sharp reversal of the earlier expectation that no criminal charges would be brought, leaving the case now moving through the St. Kitts and Nevis legal system.