The Grand Court has indicated that residents and visitors could import a firearm into the Cayman Islands without a valid gun licence, as long as they declare the weapon to a Customs and Border Control officer upon arrival.
The ruling was made by Grand Court Justice Marlene Carter on Wednesday, 7 Feb., during a pre-trial hearing in relation to a case against Anton Parygin.
Parygin, a Russian-Canadian national, relocated to Cayman to take up a job and travelled with his guns, for which he has been charged with three counts each of importation and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The charges stem from his arrival at Owen Roberts International Airport on 28 Jan. last year, with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle.
Although Parygin has pleaded not guilty to the charges, his attorney Ben Tonner, KC, says his client does not deny having imported the guns into Cayman, but that he did so in accordance with Cayman’s gun laws.
Up for debate
Tonner told the court there were specific sections of the Firearms Act (2008 Revision), which could be up for debate. These sections cover how guns are to be brought into the Cayman Islands and possible criminal liability.
Section 4 requires all travellers to declare any bulletproof vests or firearms upon arrival. Section 5 gives the traveller the option to leave the firearm on the aircraft or vessel on which they arrived or surrender it to a customs officer in a sealed packet.
Under Section 6, if the weapon is surrendered, CBC is to hold the firearm until the traveller either gets a permit for the gun or receives written approval from the police commissioner.
Tonner noted, however, that the law does not set a deadline for providing the necessary permit or written approval.
During his preliminary arguments, Tonner pointed to a CBC Ship’s Report to be completed by masters of incoming vessels.
One question asks if there are weapons or ammunition on board and requires all unlicensed firearms to be declared and surrendered – including spear guns, Hawaiian slings and pole spears – as long as the vessel remains in Cayman waters. Beneath the question, in all caps in red, is a separate note which states:
“Weapons which are not reclaimed within 12 months of deposit with CBC are forfeited to the Crown.”
With no other time frame provided, Tonner told the court this would have to be viewed as a default or appropriate timeline.
Not the spirit of the law
When rebutting Tonner’s assertions, prosecutor Hema Soondarsingh told the court that such an interpretation would run contrary to the spirit of the law and how it has historically been used.
Soondarsingh noted that the form in question was not presented to passengers upon arrival at either of Cayman’s international airports – Owen Roberts or Charles Kirkconnell International Airport – and that the form in question required that weapons be kept on board a vessel and not an aircraft.
According to Soondarsingh, ruling that the law allows for importation without a permit or permission would make CBC a default storage facility for anyone who seeks to bring a weapon into Cayman.
She further stressed that Parygin’s decision to bring the weapons in, despite having been warned against doing so by way of emails, was a clear indication of his disregard for the firearms law.
The case still to proceed
Following her ruling, Carter called on the prosecution to reconsider the matter.
However, because the prosecution has decided to proceed, Parygin’s attorney has called for an abuse-of-process argument to have the charges thrown out before the trial gets under way.
Parygin has been released on bail pending that hearing, which will take place some time in March.
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