How did an alleged gangster and ex-con end up with two-gun licenses in Jamaica is one of the top questions citizens are asking. This is after police from the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigations Branch (CTOC) nabbed the alleged mastermind behind a massive 21-gun importation in March.
CVM LIVE can confirm that the ex-convict and recently detained suspect, in a cache of illegal guns imported in March, is indeed the holder of two firearm licenses. However, the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) Boss, Shane Dalling, told CVM LIVE this is not a unique situation and in fact, several persons with questionable backgrounds gained firearm licenses between 2013 and 2016. One of several issues Dalling says he has been trying to fix and clean up since his ascension to the role. It is understood that Godfrey Martin otherwise called Rev served time in a United States prison for gun and drug-related offenses before he was deported to Jamaica in 2009. The ex-con who hails from St Elizabeth attended a prominent high school in the parish briefly before migrating at around age 15.
However, the FLA Boss says it is only in recent months that he was made aware that Martin was on the police’s radar. He also says Martin had no criminal trace in the FLA’s morph system. This is despite the constabulary force reporting that Martin has been on their radar for decades. Now at 51 with a history of allegations linking him to at least two internationally renowned gangs connected to Jamaican gangsters, he is back in custody.
When CVM LIVE spoke to several experts with knowledge of the system at the time, several questions surfaced. Years later and with a morph system designed to spot people with a criminal history and traits in the local security database, Martin not only received gun licenses but also showed no red flags or history based on fingerprints. Was the database ever apprised of information upon Martin’s deportation that linked him to a criminal past? A formal interview with the FLA Boss was cancelled after his team advised he was called to a meeting with the Security Ministry Tuesday afternoon. Up to Tuesday afternoon, no charges were formally laid against Martin who has been detained since Sunday.
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