One month after Operation Kingfish was launched, more than 140 tips have been called in on its toll free line, the task force has seized almost eight metric tonnes of cocaine, 227 kilos of compressed ganja, 13 illegal firearms, and destroyed two ganja fields.

According to the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), Kingfish has also:

. recovered seven stolen cars, including one recently stolen from the US; and

. made several arrests in connection with murders and illegal possession of firearm.

“One of the persons arrested was wanted for the murder of a policeman, another man who was a suspect in a triple murder in Portmore, St Catherine has also been apprehended,” the CCN said in a release yesterday.

Operation Kingfish was launched with much fanfare on October 19, the government’s latest attempt to dismantle criminal gangs and put a dent in the narcotics trade.

Between November 9 and 12, almost J$4 billion worth of cocaine, headed to the US via Jamaica, was seized. Nine men, seven of them Colombians, were held. They were taken into custody by US law enforcement agents.

The billion-dollar bust was made in the north western Caribbean Sea and three go-fast boats confiscated. The three boats were intercepted, separately, by American agents. Help came, from land, from local and British authorities.

Days after Operation Kingfish was launched, 1.7 metric tonnes of cocaine was seized after the British vessel HMS Richmond intercepted a go-fast boat in the Caribbean Sea. A few weeks later, about 28 go-fast boats, suspected of being used in drug running, were seized in western Jamaica.

Over the years, the island has earned the reputation of being a major transshipment point for cocaine that is being moved from Colombia to North America and Europe.

It is estimated that up to 100 tonnes of cocaine is shipped through Jamaica every year. About 70 per cent of that is headed for the US and most of the rest is destined for Britain