Prosecution calls off illegal-gun importation case

A man who flew into Cayman with a cache of firearms walked free from court on Friday.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions told the courts it no longer wishes to proceed to trial against Anton Parygin, who was accused of illegally importing multiple firearms into Cayman.

The defendant, a Canadian-Russian national, travelled to Cayman in January 2022 with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle.

Upon arrival at Owen Roberts International Airport, he presented the weapons to Customs and Border Control officers who proceeded to arrest him on suspicion of importation and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Parygin, who from the outset denied any wrongdoing, was due to stand trial before Justice Marlene Carter on 12 Feb. However, on the morning of his trial, his attorneys, Ben Tonner, KC, and James Stenning, asked the judge to provide a ruling on how the firearms law should be interpreted.

Carter ruled in favour of Tonner’s interpretation that Parygin was entitled to travel to Cayman with his firearms as long as he declared and surrendered them to CBC officers at the airport.

“In light of the court’s earlier ruling, the prosecution has decided to enter a Nolle prosequi,” Assistant Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Scott Wainwright told the court.

According to Wainwright, the matter had been reviewed by the Director of Public Prosecutions who decided the matter should not proceed any further.

Nolle prosequi directly translates to “not to wish to prosecute”, and is prescribed by section 11 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“In light of the prosecution’s indication that they do not wish to proceed with the charges against you, I hereby drop all charges against you and release you of your bail conditions,” Carter told Parygin.

Carter then ordered that the $30,000 cash deposit paid by Parygin to secure his bail, be returned to him, along with other personal belongings which he had surrendered to either the police or the court.

Although the charges have been dropped, the guns remain in the custody of the CBC.

When addressing the matter, Carter stated that she was not inclined to make any additional orders at this stage, and instead suggested that a more prudent approach would be for Parygin’s attorneys to contact CBC about the return of the firearms.

For Parygin to have his guns returned to him, he must either obtain a gun licence or special permission from the police commissioner, or leave Cayman before the time prescribed by CBC has lapsed.

It is unclear how much time CBC will give to Parygin, but when returning her ruling, Carter noted that Customs officers have prescribed time limits for the storage of firearms of up to one year.

The final matter of legal expenses was left to be decided between the Director of Public Prosecutions and Parygin’s legal team.