THE funeral for slain One Order leader Oliver “Bubba” Smith will cost in excess of $500,000, and will have most of the trappings that have now come to be associated with the burial of high-profile gangsters.

“It will be an elegant funeral because he was highly-respected in his community, but we cannot make a statement right now because everything is not finalised,” CEO of the Brite-Lite Funeral home Tommy Thompson told the Observer yesterday.

The funeral will take place at the Valley Christian Ministry church in the Windsor Road area of Spanish Town on Monday and Smith’s remains will be interred at the Dovecot Memorial Park.

Smith was slain three weeks ago along the Festival Road in St Andrew. He was shot five times with an AK 47 assault rifle and died on the spot. Cops say he was lured to the location by his killers.

Police say at the time of his death Smith was wanted for murder, shooting and extortion. He had also absconded bail on a shooting charge and fled to the United States before being deported in 1996 for drug-related crimes, cops say, adding that he had managed to elude them for over eight years while he ran a massive extortion racket in sections of Spanish Town.

Smith’s loved ones, according to insiders, have chosen a green and white ‘designer’ casket with metal handles. It was not clear if his body would be transported by a carriage, a prominent feature in many burials overseen by Brite-Lite Funeral Home.

“Things are still in the making,” Thompson said.

He added that he had met with deputy commissioner in charge of the crime portfolio Lucius Thomas yesterday to ensure that the police would not be hampered in carrying out their duties on the day of Smith’s funeral.

“Based on the reports that there will be flare-ups, the police will be taking necessary steps but the family will be allowed the privacy to mourn,” Thompson said.

Yesterday, in the wake of reports that One Order members had ordered businesses to close their doors on Monday and Tuesday of this week as a mark of respect for Smith, the police issued a warning that they would be out in their numbers on the day of the slain gangster’s funeral to prevent any disruption of public order.

“To ensure peace and stability in the area, the police will be implementing a number of strategic measures in collaboration with the Jamaica Defence Force. Listed among these measures are cordon and searches, foot patrols and intelligence-driven operations in known volatile communities,” the warning from the cops read.

Yesterday Spanish Town was calm, although police reported the discovery of a badly-decomposed body along the Dunbeholden main road.

The cops report that they were called to the area about midday and found the rotting remains of 27 year-old truck driver Warrington Willis in a ditch.

Willis’ body was clad in a multi-coloured shirt and a pair of grey and black sneakers.