Bailey calls for diaspora assistance after gigantic gun find
Published:Saturday | February 17, 2024 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey is imploring stakeholders to have meaningful talks with the Jamaican community in the United States (US) to help stem the flow of guns into the island, following the discovery of another massive weapons shipment from that country on Friday.
“Oftentimes we hear about the problem of violence, especially gun violence and murder in Jamaica, and I want to make an appeal to the Jamaican citizens, who actually are creating the significant problem that we have in Jamaica. They are the ones who are sending the firearms and I am appealing to the diaspora to sort of engage the citizens and encourage them to desist from this type of destructive activity,” Bailey said.
Some 64 guns as well as nearly 1,000 live rounds and 107 magazines were seized in an operation at the Kingston Wharves.
Bailey said that the operation, which was continuing up to press time last night, began at 8 a.m.
The Gleaner understands that two persons have so far been taken into custody in relation to the find.
A source said one of the persons held – a male – was in a wheelchair, but got up in a bid to escape when cornered.
Friday’s find is the second major seizure made at a port in Jamaica in mere days.
On Friday, February 9, another major operation carried out by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Customs Agency led to a significant cache of firearms being intercepted at the Freeport Warehouse in Montego Bay, St James.
The police said a total of 14 firearms and 15 magazines were hidden among household items in that discovery.
Using advanced non-intrusive inspection technology, customs officers detected anomalies within the shipment from Florida in the US during routine scanning procedures.
According to the JCF, the suspicious consignment – a blue plastic barrel addressed to a recipient in Bogue Village, Montego Bay – prompted a thorough examination by the Contraband Enforcement Team.
A man known only as ‘CJ’, ‘Fugitive’ and ‘Shippy’ was identified as a person of interest in relation to that investigation.