ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — The St Elizabeth police are reporting that a series of operations carried out in the parish on Friday have led to the arrest of seven people as well as the seizure of two firearms.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police, Coleridge Minto, the operations which began at 3:00 am on Friday and will continue throughout the weekend, is to ensure the safety of the St Elizabeth people.

The parish has been plagued by violence in recent months. Late September, a man was shot dead near a gas station at Gutters close to the Manchester/ St Elizabeth border on Saturday.

Earlier that same day, another man was shot dead at Pepper district, while another man was shot and injured in Thornton district.

READ: WATCH: Man shot dead at Gutters – one of three gun attacks in St Elizabeth on Saturday

“I want to assure the citizens of this parish that we will continue our operation activities to ensure that our parish remains a safe one,” Minto said. “So far we have gone across a number of our town centres and a number of our hot spot communities. At this time, 160 tickets have been issued, 11 motor vehicles seized along with two motorcycles.”

“One targeted raid was carried out in the Gutters area where two firearms were seized from a vehicle. Seven persons have been arrested so far and the operations will continue,” he added.