WESTERN BUREAU — The Westmoreland police on Thursday arrested 13 persons for various offences including illegal possession of ammunition, cocaine and ganja, during operations carried out by the lawmen in several communities in the parish.

The police said that at about 4:00 am a team from the Westmoreland CIB and Special Squad carried out a raid in the Wharf Road area of the parish, where a house was searched and one .38 cartridge and pieces of crack/cocaine found.

The occupants of the house, 25 year-old Rollington Grey and Eunice Gayle, 33, were arrested and charged jointly with illegal possession of ammunition and possession of crack/cocaine.

The police later went to Belmont where they arrested and charged:

* Kingsley Brown, an 18 year-old labourer;

* Keith Murray, a 23 year-old fisherman;

* Marlon Gooden, 21, a tiler, and

* Oniel Watkins, an 18 year-old labourer.

They are all of Belmont in the parish and have been charged with unlawful wounding and possession of ganja.

Three suspects were also held for murders committed in the Belmont area of the parish. They are scheduled to face an identification parade next week.

During the same operation Timothy Kersdale, a 26 year-old labourer of Belmont, was also arrested and charged with unlawful wounding.

The police then moved to Dunbar’s River where they arrested and charged Mark Campbell, a 31 year-old labourer of Whitehouse, with possession of cocaine after he was allegedly found with one piece of crack/cocaine.

According to the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) liaison officer for Westmoreland, Sergeant Alva Douglas, the operations formed a part of the new crime initiative in the parish that is aimed at “ridding the parish of criminal elements”.

He said the raids on Thursday followed sharply on the heels of other operations carried out in the parish on Tuesday during which two persons in the Smithfield area were arrested and charged with possession of 12 pieces of crack/cocaine, after a search of their homes.