A 38 year old man will appear in court in Samoa next week for allegedly carrying an illegal firearm.
The accused was arrested a week ago after a terrified taxi driver alerted Police about one of his passengers allegedly carrying a 38 revolver pistol which was in a holster attached to his waist.
Police spokesperson, Inspector Maotaoalii Kaioneta Aliisolia told the media that while no incident occurred, it was not certain why the man was carrying the firearm.
He said regardless of that it is not a risk they were not willing to take, especially with the many gun-related incidents that occurred in Samoa in the past four weeks.
“The man was carrying the gun around with him when he got into the taxi, and once he (taxi driver) saw the piece, he contacted the police,” he said.
Maota says the taxi driver did what was right and contacted the officials.
“He has been charged with possession of unlawful weapons and he will stand trial on the 19th of this month,” he added.
“We also advise the public to always call matters like this in, especially when a person carries a dangerous weapon like this around, because you may never know their intentions. We can’t have dangerous firearms on our streets putting many innocent lives in danger,” Maota says.
Photo:Police spokesperson, Inspector Maotaoalii Kaioneta Aliisolia