A man who police say was a career criminal and gunrunner who was out on bail, having been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman in 2023, was one of three men killed by cops during an operation in Grange Hill, Westmoreland, on Monday.

According to the police, about 4:45 Monday morning an intelligence-led operation was conducted in Stitchie Lane, Top Lincoln, Grange Hill.

Police reported that three men engaged them in a gunfight which ended with all three shot. They were pronounced dead at hospital.

The police also said that two weapons — a Taurus G pistol, a Browning — and a quantity of ammunition were seized following the incident.

Jamaica Observer sources have since identified one of dead men as 25-year-old Odain Barron, otherwise called Bududup or Barram, a labourer whose last known address was Coolie Town district, Paradise, Westmoreland.

One of the other victims was identified as 15-year-old Sheldon McCalla. The other was not identified up to press time.

According to the Observer sources, Barron, who was days shy of his 26th birthday, was a habitual offender, well known to the police.

The sources say Barron’s life of crime began while he was still a juvenile and escalated over the years as he was groomed by more seasoned criminals into a central figure in organised criminal activities.

“He had been on the police radar since 2017 due to sustained criminal involvement and was the subject of multiple intelligence-led operations,” said one Observer source.

“The police were convinced that Barron was deeply involved in the transnational narcotics trade, with a particular focus on guns-for-drugs exchanges between Nicaragua and Jamaica.

“Police intelligence revealed he had recently received a shipment of firearms off the coast of Coolie Town and was actively involved in the distribution and sale of illegal firearms and ammunition, equipping criminal associates in the community,” added the source.

It is believed that Barron was involved in a gun-for-drugs operation busted by the police just over one week ago.

At that time a coordinated operation carried out by the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID), supported by the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, led to the arrest of two Nicaraguans, a Jamaican, and the seizure of more than 1,400 pounds of ganja and a fishing vessel off the coast of Westmoreland.

Members of the security forces intercepted the fishing vessel during the predawn operation and a search was conducted. During the search, the illicit drug, weighing 1,480 pounds (672.6 kilograms) was found. The three men aboard the vessel were arrested.

While the Observer sources refused to say if Barron was linked to that operation based on the stage of the police probe into the incident, they pointed out that he was granted bail by the court after he was charged in connection with the August 2023 murder of Shantal “Pokie” Calder-Whittingham in Coolie Town.

At that time the police reported that about 3:30 pm on August 12, 2023, Calder-Whittingham and her relatives were leaving home when a man, with whom they had a dispute, and three other men approached them.

The four men opened gunfire, hitting Calder-Whittingham and her relatives, and then escaped.

The police were summoned and on their arrival Calder-Whittingham and her relatives were seen lying on the road covered in blood.

They were taken to hospital where Calder-Whittingham was pronounced dead and the others admitted.

Barron was arrested during an operation in Westmoreland days later. He gave a caution statement and was later charged with murder, shooting with intent and unauthorised possession of a prohibited weapon.