MONTEGO BAY, St James - THE St James police removed two high-powered weapons from the hands of criminals during a joint police/military operation in the Mount Salem community on New Year's Day.

According to Sergeant Peter Salkey the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) liaison officer for the St James police division, an AK 47 assault rifle with 90 7.62 mm cartridges and an Intrateck sub-machine gun with seven 9mm rounds were recovered during the security operations.

He added that 20 5.56 mm cartridges, mostly used in M16 assault rifles; three ski masks, a camouflage ballistic vest were among the criminal paraphernalia recovered during the raid which was conducted at a premises along Brunswick Avenue in Mount Salem.

Sergeant Salkey noted that the Mount Salem operation formed part of the St James police relentless effort to remove illegal weapons from the streets.

"This is part of the ongoing effort that the St James police have been carrying out to rid the streets of illegal weapons. We intend to sustain these efforts," said Salkey.

He disclosed the number of guns now seized in the parish since the start of the year now stands at three.

Last year, the police recovered 66 illegal firearms and 543 assorted rounds of ammunition in St James.