(Barbados Nation) The drugs-for-guns trade has reached Barbados and could be largely responsible for the increased presence and use of firearms here, say police sources.

And intelligence gathered by the Regional Security Systems (RSS), the organization charged with the defence and security of the Eastern Caribbean region, seems to support this.

DAILY NATION investigations have revealed that some of the guns flowing into Barbados were sent by suppliers connected to local dealers in lieu of payment for drugs received. The guns are being sent, our sources say, primarily to protect the dealers’ turf against increasing poaching by other pushers.

One police source suggested two of the recent murders and a number of reported shooting incidents might be connected to this trend.

Police public relations officer Inspector David Welch could not confirm this drugs-for-guns connection here, but did not discount it. He said in the Barbadian context “as we are not a supplier of drugs per se, these guns are being paid for by hard currency”.