Three West Bay men have been detained by police for gang-related offences. The arrests could see the first use of Cayman’s anti-gang legislation since it was introduced more than 12 years ago.
Police, in a statement on Wednesday afternoon, announced the arrests of three men, ages 25, 29 and 41, following an operation under Section 231 of the Cayman Islands Penal Code, which relates to gang membership and gang activities.
The arrests and operation, police said, stem from a video released online in late August.
In the video footage, three men were shown speaking to an interviewer about their participation in gang activity, while displaying firearms.
The video was circulated in the community and subsequently shared by local social media pages.
Police said officers detained the 25-year-old man, following an operation on Wednesday morning in the West Bay area, on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm with intent and being a member of a criminal gang.
He was also detained for making threats to kill in an unrelated matter.
Two other men, ages 29 and 41, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm with intent and being a member of a criminal gang.
The 41-year-old was further arrested on suspicion of possession of ganja.
All three have been bailed pending further investigation, police said.
Cayman’s anti-gang laws were added to the Penal Code in 2011, which made being a member of a gang a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. No one has ever been prosecuted under the amended legislation.
That amendment defines gang membership as “any group, association or other body consisting of three or more persons, whether formally or informally organised, having as one of its primary activities the commission of a serious offence; and any or all of the members of which engage in or have, within the preceding three years, engaged in the commission of a series of serious offences”.
The gang law and its lack of use resurfaced in February following the shooting at the Ed Bush stadium in which seven people were injured.
Following that shooting, at a public meeting in West Bay, Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton announced that the RCIPS was forming a team of officers that would focus specifically on gang activity in Cayman.
A $250,000 reward was offered to help catch a suspected lone gunman in the shooting spree that was described as a “watershed” crime that was “unprecedented in Cayman”.
Four suspects were arrested following the Ed Bush stadium shooting on suspicion of attempted murder and suspicion of possessing an unlicensed firearm, but no reference was made to gang membership. All were bailed.
No charges have been filed against the men to date.
Legislators, using the 25 Feb. Ed Bush shooting as a catalyst for change, passed amendments to Cayman’s anti-firearms laws, including tougher jail times for offenders and measures for dealing with ‘ghost guns’.
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