Coronation market vendor robbed of more than $200,000

Coronation Market vendor Jane Doe* is hoping that the police will finally devise a strategy to protect persons in the downtown market district.

The market is said to have been under siege from criminals in recent times. About 15 gunmen reportedly robbed persons at the Coronation Market a fortnight ago.

Doe told THE WEEKEND STAR that she was robbed twice in one week, and she reported the incident to the Darling Street police.

"The first time a man with a gun take $122,000, and two days later they rob me of $80,000," the vendor said.

Unofficial reports

Senior Superintendent Howard Chambers, commander for the Kingston Western Police Division, told THE WEEKEND STAR that he has received several unofficial reports of armed men carrying out robberies at the Coronation Market in the dead of night, and police intelligence indicates that the men are from the Denham Town area.

Just yesterday, an unmarked police vehicle was sprayed with bullets by gunmen who were reportedly on their way to rob persons.

"We believe that these men were grouping up to go and rob the market because based on what we are gathering, this is the time that they carry out these acts," Chambers said.

When THE WEEKEND STAR visited the market yesterday, vendors were afraid to speak openly about the security concerns.

"Mi naah say anything about that," one vendor muttered when asked about the incidents.

However, Chambers is appealing to persons to report incidents of robbery in the market.

"We are encouraging the citizens in the market to report these incidents to the Denham Town or Darling Street police because we are hearing about a lot of unreported cases of robberies in the market. We don't have that in a formal report system so that we can pretty much put together a strategy to deal with it," Chambers said.

* Name changed