Mt Salem sadden by the arrest of ZOSO soldier

Residents of Mt Salem in Montego Bay, St James, are now in shock as news has surfaced that the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldier, who was held with an illegal firearm and several rounds of ammunition in St Catherine on Saturday, was a member of the zone of special operations (ZOSO) team based in the community.

"I am sad and I am disappointed ... these soldiers have become like family to us," a resident of Mt Salem told the WESTERN STAR.

"We have not had a shot fired much less a murder since these soldiers came to Mt Salem, so this is the kind of news we never wanted to hear."

According to reports from the Spanish Town police at about 9:15 p m. on Saturday, a team of officers were carrying out patrol duties along sections of Crescent district when they saw two men involved in a dispute. The officers stopped and intervened and noticed that one of the men had a firearm in his waistband.

The police accosted the man with the firearm, who reportedly identified himself as a JDF private. However, when quizzed about the status of the firearm, he was not able to provide a satisfactory answer. He was subsequently taken into custody.

The weapon, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, was loaded with a magazine containing 12 live 9mm rounds. A search of the soldier's vehicle reportedly turned up an additional nine 9mm rounds.

The soldier reportedly told investigators that he had found the illegal weapon in Linstead,

St Catherine, while on duty there some time ago.