MONTEGO BAY, St James

The St James police will step up the pressure on criminals, following three simultaneous stints with Operation Kingfish, which netted one of nine wanted men in the parish and several firearms on Tuesday.

“We have a renewed energy in St James. We are putting out at least six cars at the bottom end, and at least eight at the top end on a daily basis in the St James area. Coupled with the operations vehicles in Norwood, and in the hills, we are getting support from the people,” said Superintendent Steve McGregor, who took over the post as commanding officer for the St James Police Division on March 5.

The man, whose identity is being withheld, is to face an identification parade for his alleged involvement in a host of criminal activities, including murder and shootings in the parish.

Three illegal firearms and 16 rounds of ammunition were also seized during Tuesday’s operations, pushing the tally of guns taken off the streets of St James since the start of the year to 20.

Corporal Peter Salkey, CCN liaison officer for St James, said the police led three concurrent operations in Lilliput, Norwood and Granville. At around 11:45 pm, the team of police in Norwood came upon a group of men who ran when they spotted the police party.

The cops chased the men, but they escaped. A search was carried out in the area which yielded a .45 pistol with the serial number erased, and one 9mm pistol with serial number G44039, loaded with 159mm rounds.

During the operation at Lilliput, members of the police party observed two suspicious-looking men. One of the men fled the scene upon seeing the police, but the other was held. He was found with a home-made firearm with one .45 round of ammunition. He was taken into custody and charged with illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

Four other men from the Lilliput community were taken into custody for questioning. The cops are interrogating another four men from the Granville community.

In the meantime, McGregor, who has spearheaded 35 operations since his recent transfer here, yesterday revealed that one wanted man called in earlier this week expressing his willingness to turn himself in to the police.

McGregor, who was transferred from St Thomas, was one of 36 senior cops reassigned by Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas, as part of his strategy to bring crime under control – especially in St James, where a lottery scam has been blamed for several murders.

The St James Police Division recorded 178 homicides last year. Since January this year, 39 murders have been recorded on the police blotters.