Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson says lotto scamming activities have caused more of the nation’s youth to gain access to illegal firearms.

Major General Anderson was speaking during a regional security symposium now underway in Trinidad and Tobago (April 17).

He explained that with many young people engaging in lotto scamming activities, these persons have all the funds they need to buy illegal weapons.

This, he noted is a shift from previous years, when only gang members had access to guns.

The Commissioner noted further that this shift has resulted in the heightened use of violence on Jamaica’s streets.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is also at the CARICOM security symposium and is expected to make an address.

The symposium aims to address crime and violence as a public health issue and is being staged under the theme, ‘The Crime Challenge: “None of Us is Safe Until All of Us Are Safe.”