AN armed man who boarded a bus Thursday evening in the troubled community of Rockfort in East Kingston and attempted to hold up the bus was instead disarmed by two male passengers and beaten.

Police said that the man, who later arrested, was wanted in connection with at least five murders, including a double killing in the hotbed ‘Shanty Town’ community in Rockfort early Thursday morning. His name was not released by the police.

Deputy Superintendent Michael Bailey of the Elletson Road Police Station said the man, shortly after paying his fare, demanded that the conductor return the money to him and attempted to pull his weapon.

“It seemed he had some trouble pulling the weapon from his waistband and when the passengers saw the (gun’s) magazine they pounced on him. A person with some experience was there and that person wrestled with him until the weapon was pointed at his (the gunman’s) chest. It was then that he gave up and subsequently let go of the gun,” said Bailey.

Bailey said that the man was beaten by passengers, but managed to get away when the bus stopped. However, he got another round of thrashing from residents after he sought refuge at premises in the vicinity of Sea Breeze Avenue along Windward Road in Kingston.

“He was beaten and chopped on his shoulder by the residents before he was rescued by the police and the gun turned over. We believe that it was this same gun that was used in the killings of 20-year-old Kevin Pusey and Talman Cupidon, 25, who we suspect were his cronies,” said Bailey.

He said, too, that the man was a suspect in the shooting death of two people on Hypolite Road in the community.

Police said the gun – an M16 Carbine 15 pistol, registered B 26344 and loaded with 24 rounds of ammunition – was the second of its kind seized in Jamaica. It was made in Arizona, United States.

In the meantime, the police say that they have identified several suspects in what they believe to be a ‘branch’ of the illegal drug-for-guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti in Rockfort.

Fourteen packets of compressed marijuana, weighing more than 200 pounds, were found hidden in an abandoned building in Pleasant Heights in the community shortly after 4:00 pm on Thursday.

No one was arrested in connection with the find.

“We have some suspects who we believe are involved in the illicit guns for drug trade between Jamaica and other Caribbean countries,” Bailey told the Observer.

Bailey said that the police were, in the meantime, questioning two men who were arrested in connection with the seizure of two drums of petrol that they believe were being used to fuel drug boats during a raid along the southern coastline, not far from Rockfort last Thursday.