Mandeville mayor questions ZOSO success
Published:Monday | September 11, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell has called into question the integrity of security personnel involved in the zone of special operations (ZOSO) in Mount Salem, St James, following last week's report of the seizure of four firearms. On Sunday, he ridiculed the reported success of recovering an AK-47 rifle with five live rounds, a nine-millimetre pistol and handmade guns as a likely fabrication.
"Comrades, can you imagine that they go into one little area of St James and say they are looking for guns? I don't know weh them borrow them three likkle mash-up something me see them have pon TV and inna Gleaner a show. Probably them did have them inna some cupboard lockup, weh them take way from people long time, but it look bad, so them have to find some things to show the people; but Comrades, God naw sleep," he told the East Central constituency conference at Tarrant High School, St Andrew.
In the lead up to this statement, the Mandeville mayor had characterised supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party this way: "Labourite nuh have nuh conscience. Labourite nuh have no manners. Labourite nuh have nutten good bout them."
Former minister of national security Peter Bunting also ridiculed the success story as depicted by the ZOSO communications unit, describing it as a publicity stunt.
"I see a picture by ZOSO communications on Twitter of two board guns, them call it success - 'We have discovered two home-made weapons'. yet, when I look at the police statistic that they issue, they don't recognise them because is two fake guns. Is two piece of board paste up together and that is not a gun, so it don't even count on the police statistics as two guns recovered, but yet it is a big song and dance on Twitter feed," Bunting said.