SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Four men said to be part of the ‘Sassas’ crime syndicate which is allegedly involved in the drugs-for-guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti were shot dead, and eight guns seized in a major police operation at Luana in south West St Elizabeth early yesterday.

Those killed were said to have been among a group which disembarked from a boat at Whitehouse in eastern Westmoreland late Sunday night — having just returned home after spending about a month in Haiti.

They were identified last night as Dwayne Cotterell of Long Lane, Westmoreland; Andrew Lloyd of Bogue, St Elizabeth; Luke ‘Lukie Screw’ Young of Naggo Head, St Catherine and Donovan Dunkley of Whitehouse, Westmoreland.

Cotterell, a taxi driver by trade, was said to be at the wheel of a Toyota Corolla when the alleged gangsters were intercepted by the police.

A fifth man, whom police identified yesterday as gang leader Conroy ‘Sassas’ Peru, managed to escape, and a major manhunt was ongoing in Luana and surrounding areas yesterday afternoon. A blood trail suggested to police that Peru — whose gang is said to operate out of the south coast parishes of Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon and St Catherine — was injured in the shootout.

A policeman was grazed in the gun battle. He was taken to hospital, treated and released.

The weapons seized included two submachine guns, six 9mm semi-automatic pistols and a quantity of assorted ammunition.

Inspector Steve Brown of Operation Kingfish told the Observer that the shooting erupted at about 2:15 am. An intelligence-driven joint operation involving Operation Kingfish, Trans-national Crime and Narcotics Division, the Joint Military Task Force and the St Elizabeth police intercepted the car with five men aboard.

The driver of the car obeyed police instructions to stop, but then the occupants disembarked, firing at the police. The security forces returned the fire and when the shooting ended four men lay dead or dying while Peru managed to escape.

Brown said the police were able to confirm that the men left Jamaica for Haiti in late November to early December. He said police intelligence picked them up after they came off the boat at Whitehouse. The police believe the men were on their way to the Old Harbour area of St Catherine

Police yesterday were making a link with the arrest last week of Maureen Watson, said to be Peru’s common-law wife. She was reportedly held while attempting to send 650 pounds of ganja to Haiti. Watson is out on bail and is to return to the Santa Cruz Resident Magistrate’s Court on January 14.

Brown and the chief of police in St Elizabeth, Superintendent Merrick Watson, suggested yesterday that the police operation had done significant damage to the drugs-for-guns trade that has complicated the anti-crime fight in southern Jamaica.

“It is a major dent in the drugs-for-guns trade,” declared Brown. “We have been tracking them (Sassas gang) for a very, very long time.”

He emphasised, however, that much work remained to be done and that cooperation from the public was vital. “We (police) are in it for the long haul and we need the help of the citizens if we are to be successful in combating this,” he said.

Watson also spoke of the need for citizens to assist the police, not only in the long term, but immediately in the drive to capture Peru. Criminals should be made to understand that there is no safe haven in St Elizabeth, Watson said.