Cops claim special ops success

Eighteen illegal guns including pistols that have been modified to enable their use to be used as automatic weapons have been removed from the hands of criminals.

The guns were seized during a 14-day surge operation in western Jamaica.

Vernon Ellis, acting assistant commissioner of police for Area One, which covers the western parishes, said the operation included a series of "high-level, intelligence-driven operations focusing on some of the problem areas in Westmoreland, St. James, Hanover and to a lesser extent Trelawny".

Ellis said significant attention was placed on tackling lottery scamming as intelligence suggests that the illicit activity continues to be a driver for violent crimes.

"This type of organised crime activity from the intelligence we have and what we are seeing on the ground is what is actually fuelling the purchase of weapons [and it is] also fuelling murders, so we intend to relentlessly pursue those persons involved in these activities. We had some big operations where over 100 elements from the security forces were brought to bear on specific areas, targeting lottery scammers," he said.

Starting in the pre-dawn hours on last Thursday, teams carried out synchronised operations in communities across St James and Hanover, including Green Island, Ramble, Kingsvale, Pell River, Hopewell, Sandy Bay and Mount Pelier.

The operations concluded with the arrest of two persons, the seizure of US $15,700 (approximately J$2.4 million) and two motor vehicles along with several electronic devices.

The two persons--a man and a woman--were arrested for suspected breaches the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act on Friday.