A leading member of the notorious Spanish Town-based Klansman gang was held by police on Sunday in the Kingston community of Brook Valley, Duhaney Park.

The police reported that the man was taken into custody during an operation by cops from the Special Anti-Crime Task Force and Operation Kingfish in the volatile Brook Valley area.

His name is being withheld until he faces an identification parade later this week.

A Sig Sauer 9mm pistol and 11 rounds of ammunition were allegedly seized by the police during the raid.

The Klansman gang is one of two well-organised criminal networks that operate in Spanish Town, St Catherine. The gang has aligned itself with the ruling Peoples National Party and police said is responsible for a large extortion racket in the Old Capital which is centered around the municipal bus park.

The leader of the Klansman gang, Donovan “Bulby” Bennett has been wanted by the police for over a decade and has been a permanent fixture on the most wanted list since 2001.

Bulby has also been linked to several murders committed in the St Catherine North and South police divisions. Police have also linked the Klansman leader to last October’s murder of three men in a bar at Naggo’s Head in Portmore. He is also wanted for several counts of extortion.

The De La Vega City, Fish Ground, Manchester Avenue, Burke Road, Rivoli and a section of March Pen are communities in which members of the Klansman gang operate.