OFFICERS from the Major Investigation Task Force (MIT) have zoned in on 123 fugitives who are wanted for gun murders in the Corporate Area.

However, the cops only released the names of only two of the men as they were being cautious not to prejudice the cases involving the remaining 121 wanted persons.

The two names released by the police are Linval Allen, also called ‘Val’, who is wanted for the murder of a man known only as ‘Dimitri’ in Stony Hill, St Andrew; and Dennis Kennedy also known as ‘Spooner’. Kennedy is wanted for the murder of Richard Barrett.

During a press briefing at the MIT headquarters in downtown Kingston Monday, Superintendent Errol ‘Chipper’ Grant said the MIT had improved its clear-up rate for murders in the Corporate Area due to increased training of its members in forensic science and the acquisition of modern forensic equipment.

“From January 1 to February 28 last year, there were 75 cases of murder in the Corporate Area. We cleared up 25. Over the same period this year there were 66 and so far we have cleared up 28,” Grant told reporters.

The MIT is presently mandated to investigate gun murders in the Corporate Area, but Grant said a move is afoot to set up a branch of the MIT in St Catherine which has seen an increase in murders in recent times.

“Personnel are now going through orientation. We are looking at a building and we will be in St Catherine. We are also looking at St James,” Grant said.

The cops also praised the work of Government Pathologist Dr Denesh Rao, who, according to the MIT’s Deputy Superintendent, Merveral Smith, has worked assiduously to clear the backlog of post-mortem examinations which choked the system.

Post-mortem examinations used to be conducted only on Tuesdays at the Spanish Town Hospital and Thursdays at the Kingston Public Hospital, but since Rao’s employment to the Ministry of National Security in July last year, post-mortems are now conducted every day of the week.

“In July we had 250-300 bodies at Madden’s alone, now we have 40 bodies,” Rao said.