THE police high command says the mastermind in the murder of the two policemen who were brutally slaughtered as they played a game of dominoes at a shop in Poor Man’s Corner, St Thomas, on Tuesday night, is the leader of a 30-member gang in the parish.

Investigators have identified the suspect behind the attack that has triggered islandwide shock and anger as Marlon ‘Duppy Film’ Perry, a resident of Phillipsfield, Yallahs.

“Perry is suspected to be a key player in the drugs-for-guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti and is linked to more that 15 murders across the island,” sources told the

Jamaica Observer.

Allegations are that the gang he leads also consists of several Haitian men believed to be here illegally.

The police say they are asking Perry and two other men, identified as Jason Foster, 21, of Albion in the parish, and a man known only as ‘Patta’, also of a St Thomas address, to immediately turn themselves over to the Yallahs police.

The police high command is offering a reward of $1 million for information leading to the arrest of the men.

Meanwhile, police yesterday said they are probing new information that suggest that the deadly attacks on the two policemen may have been a possible reprisal carried out by members of the notorious gangs.

Police report that around 8:30 pm, 52-year-old Corporal Kenneth Davis, who was once employed as a bodyguard to former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, and Craig Palmer, a 35-year-old constable assigned to the Denham Town Police Station, were at a wholesale establishment playing a game of dominoes when they were attacked by criminals carrying high-powered weapons.

The sounds of gunfire that echoed in the farming community sent chills down the spines of the families of both men, who lived metres away from where the tragedy unfolded.

“He was just at home with me when he told me that he was going down to the shop to get a movie,” Beverley Palmer, mother of the dead constable, told the Observer.

She said that shortly after he left she received news that her son had been shot and killed.

Several metres from where that family lived, Joan, wife of the other slain officer, fought hard to hold back the tears.

“He was just here watching television and said he was going on the road; I did not think anything of it because by the way he was dressed I knew he would not be long,” she said.

Mrs Davis said she had no idea that would be the last time she would see her husband alive.

After a knock on her door from a neighbour, she was told that her husband had been shot. She then rushed to hospital to learn that her husband has succumbed to his injury. He had been shot in the head.

Minister of National Security Peter Bunting and Police Commissioner Dr Carl Williams yesterday toured the community where the killings took place. Bunting and his team met with the families of the slain cops and also visited with their colleagues. Corporal Davis was assigned to the Protective Services Division and Constable Craig Palmer to the Kingston Western Division, which has already lost two members of their team this year at the hands of criminals.

During the tour, Bunting called on the police to remain alert at all times as the threat level in St Thomas and a number of surrounding divisions remained high, given the number of threats from criminals in these areas.

“This demonstrates the risk that the police are constantly exposed to by virtue of their occupation, and incidents of this nature remind us of the extremely difficult challenges facing the security forces, and the great sacrifices they continue to make in the fight to rid Jamaica of the scourge of crime and violence,” said Bunting.

United States Ambassador to Jamaica Luis G Moreno also extended condolence to the men’s families and colleagues.

“In this season of peace and togetherness, it is heartbreaking to see these and other senseless murders. To the members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and other law enforcement officers across this island who risk your own safety to protect our lives I salute you. “I urge you to continue to conduct your duties honourably and professionally without fear or favour,” Moreno said in a release.

“Too many times this year we have mourned the loss of officers of the law and citizens murdered by violent criminals. I want to echo the words of Commissioner of Police Dr Carl Williams: ‘As a nation, we must band together to preserve the rule of law and the safety, security, and human rights of every Jamaican.’ The United States will stand firmly with the police and people of Jamaica to stem this bloodshed,” said Moreno.

The police request anyone with information that can assist them in their investigations is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Branch at 922-4741 or 922-4487; Yallahs police at 982-5075; as well as Crime Stop at 311; 811 and 119. They may also use the Stay Alert App or contact the nearest police station with information.