Westmoreland police seize over 2,000 illegal motorcycles

WESTERN BUREAU:

As part of its campaign to combat the lawlessness that has been plaguing the parish, the Westmoreland police recently seized over 2,000 motorcycles that were being operated illegally and, in many cases, serving as the transportation of choice by marauding criminals.

In an interview with The Gleaner, Deputy Superintendent Shaunjaye Mitchell, head of operations in the western parish, said that the fight against crime intensified in recent months as part of targeted operations.

Three months ago, a special focus was placed on illegal motorcycles, as the police went all out in a relentless drive to weaken the power of the gangsters and interrupt their capacity to network and manoeuvre in and out of traffic, making it difficult to chase them.

“So far, we have estimated that we have seized over 2,000 motorcycles across the parish. We are targeting these illegal motorcycles because we find that a number of these motorcycles are involved in crimes and several violent incidents,” said Mitchell, who is determined to make it difficult for gangsters to continue their reign of terror on the parish.

“This is a part of the overall strategy towards targeting gangs and gangsters.”

In the bitter feud between the resurgent King Valley Gang and the emerging Ants Posse Gang, which had Grange Hill and surrounding communities in a killing field earlier this year, many of the murderous attacks were carried out by men travelling on motorcycles.

The situation escalated to the point where students became the target of the gunmen, resulting in at least one student being killed, leading to the suspension of classes at both the Grange Hill Primary and Grange Hill High schools. The police were forced to create a special task force to interrupt the violence producers and restore order in the affected communities.

“These gangsters tend to use illegal motorcycles as forward teams to check out an area, get inside there, commit a crime and then leave quickly,” said Mitchell.

“We will continue to do this type of operation until order is restored.”

LINKED TO ROAD FATALITIES

While no data was provided, the police are also reporting that a significant number of the road fatalities in the parish are linked to persons driving unlicensed motorcycles.

“Road traffic fatalities are attributed to a number of these illegal motorcycles, so we are urging members of the public who are purchasing motorcycles to ensure that they are licensed and registered and that the drivers have their driver’s licence to drive them,” said Mitchell.

Of note, bicycles and motorcycles are a primary mode of transportation in western Jamaica, with motorcycles often used as taxis in communities where it is difficult for cars to traverse.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com