St Catherine South police arrest gangsters fleeing security operations in other parishes

Head of Operations of the St Catherine South Division Superintendent Leighton Grey says several members of the St James-based Sparta Gang and other gang members from Kingston and St Andrew, Westmoreland and Spanish Town, who fled security operations in those parishes, have been detained over the last two weeks.

Addressing a committee meeting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation yesterday, Superintendent Grey said police personnel have arrested five members of the Sparta Gang as well as seven other gang members from West Kingston, St Andrew Central, Westmoreland and Spanish Town in sections of Old Harbour.

"We have credible intelligence that led us to these gang members who have obviously migrated to the St Catherine South Division to escape the state of [public] emergency and the zones of special operations dragnets. We have taken them into custody under the anti-gang law and they are being processed and will be handed over to the various divisions where they are allegedly wanted for a number of crimes including murder, shootings, and robberies," Grey said.

He added that the police have also cracked down on prostitution in Old Harbour which they believe facilitates some of the crimes that are being committed.

"Some activities are taking place in this business, it actually invites persons to come there because of the women, and while most of these things happen after midnight, this is the time we have been operating, we have put a lid on this activity," declared Grey.

Superintendent Grey said the division has also had some success in dealing with the problem of trafficking illegal firearms in the Old Harbour Bay area.

But, he admitted that it has been a challenge to apprehend persons involved in the trade.

"The traffickers are getting sophisticated; using pilots who drive ahead and report by phone whether the police [are] on the road or not to the vehicle carrying the guns," Grey pointed out.

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