Operation Kingfish yesterday marked its third anniversary by trumpeting its successes, including what it said was a 100 per cent conviction record, and by issuing a steely warning to drug dealers that they will get no breathing space from the police task force.

“.I have disturbing news for all drug dealers and those who are members of organised gangs; the work of Operation Kingfish will not only be continuing, it will be intensified. There will be no respite for the purveyors of evil deeds,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds, who heads Kingfish, told journalists at a press conference at the national security ministry.

Operation Kingfish was launched on October 19, 2004 with a mandate to bring down drug dealers, gangs and crime bosses using science and technology combined with “old fashioned detective work”.

The task force is supported by other operational arms of the security forces, including the Special Anti-Crime Task Force, Flying Squad, Organised Crime Investigation Division, Financial Investigation Division, National Intelligence Bureau and the Contraband Enforcement Team.

It also has the benefit of full-time professional legal assistance throughout the investigation process which contributed to its boast yesterday of not having lost a single court case.

“When it comes to case preparation, our elite investigators work very closely with our legal team to ensure that the files are properly prepared and no stone is left unturned in covering every area,” said Hinds. “So prepared and well-managed are our case files that to date we have not lost a single case in court.”

The success, he said, is achieved “because we investigate meticulously before making arrests. More often than not, by the time offenders appear in court, case files are ready for trial”.

Kingfish, along with personnel from the Jamaica Defence Force were currently involved in a “massive operation in Westmoreland”, Hinds said, adding that some highly sophisticated ganja fields have already been destroyed and the team would not leave until all the fields identified are destroyed.

National Security Minister Derrick Smith, in congratulating Kingfish, said the Government was firmly in support of the work of the police task force.

“I also need to speak of the highly successful prosecution rate of the team,” said Smith. “This is evidenced in the fact that Operation Kingfish has not lost a single case in court. This is an achievement which must not go unrecognised. Hats off to the investigators and the legal team who work non-stop to ensure its success.”

On the issue of collaboration with other local and foreign law enforcement agencies, the minister said such co-operation was welcomed.

“I welcome the commitment to seek a greater level of interconnection between Kingfish, the National Investigative Bureau, the Major Investigative Team and the Military Intelligence Unit,” Smith said.

Among Kingfish’s achievements since the start of this year are the recovery of 55 firearms; the seizure of 3,126 assorted rounds of ammunition; the apprehension of 20 wanted persons; and the arrests of 130 individuals in connection with murders, firearms and ammunition, extortion and drugs.

The task force has also seized 10 boats, 15 pounds of cocaine, 5,079 pounds of compressed ganja, and destroyed four acres of the fully-grown contraband.

Canadian high commissioner to Jamaica Denis Kingsley, his British counterpart Jeremy Creswell and United States ambassador Brenda La Grange Johnson attended yesterday’s press conference in an apparent show of the security co-operation between the four countries.

Minister Smith thanked them for their support and asked that it be continued.