FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Police in this parish have linked three murders committed between January and June 1 this year to a flourishing illicit sex trade in Falmouth. While conceding that there is more work to be done, the cops say they have been making headway in curbing these nocturnal activities.

There have been 12 murders in Trelawny so far this year, three more than the corresponding period last year.

“Since the start of the year there have been three deaths that we can link to the night activities there,”” commander of the Trelawny Police Division, Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Winston Milton told Jamaica Observer.

He was referencing the Seaboard Street and Harbour Street strips, located close to the Falmouth Port, where scantily clad females ply their trade nightly.

“We have been doing nightly operations, focusing on these sex workers. We recognise that they pose a public safety threat so we have been doing frequent operations around them,” DSP Milton said.

“Right now, though, we need to broaden the scope of the operation — like including other agencies. We are also looking at the support base such as the vendors who support [sex workers] in their endeavours; we have been focusing on these vendors,” he added.

The senior cop said pressure is also being applied to males who play a role in facilitating prostitution in Falmouth.

“There are some men who supervise or provide protection for them — we have also been focusing on them. The intention is to make the environment difficult for these kind of illicit activities. We are not where we want to be but… we have placed a significant dent in the operation,” DSP Milton told the
Observer.

He explained that his team’s success has driven some of the ladies of the night underground.

“We know that some of them have been hiding in various places, that’s why we want to widen the scope of our operations. So whereas they used to operate overtly on street corners
et cetera — Seaboard Street, Harbour Lane — we figure that some of them may have gone into hiding and [are] operating from clandestine areas, so we are doing the necessary work in relation to this so that we can pursue them,” added DSP Milton.

Concerned about the loss of lives, Mayor of Falmouth Councillor C Junior Gager agreed that the sex trade cannot be allowed to continue in the historic town.

“We had a meeting Thursday morning and the police are working with us. We will be having regular meetings to see if what was said is carried out and to make the place safe and secure,” said Gager.

“We have cameras there. If you come out during the nights you will see the ladies in their special clothes that they wear at that time of the night. Honestly, I must say that the police have been working overtime with us on it but we need to put down our foot, we need to all work and sing from the same sankey that says, ‘Listen, we won’t tolerate [this]’ because this has led to at least three lives being lost,” Gager added.

He was referencing the fatal stabbing of two men in separate incidents on Seaboard Street in January. Twenty-four-year-old labourer Soloman Minto, from Wakeland Drive in Falmouth, has been charged in connection with the murders of 44-year-old Noel Nelson of Water Lane, Falmouth and Joel Curry of Martha Brae, both in Trelawny.

The Falmouth police also took a suspect into custody in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man during a dispute on Seaboard Street in the wee hours of Saturday, May 18. The deceased was identified as 25-year-old Ricardo Meghie from Hague Settlement in Trelawny.

The police’s theory is that Minto and the suspect in the other murder provide security for the prostitues who operate in the area.