Against the backdrop of the arrest and charge of two members of the security forces over a three-day span last week, and a record seizure of illegal firearms last year, Superintendent Patrae Rowe says the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) has has sent a clear and uncompromising message: No badge, rank, or affiliation places anyone beyond the reach of the law.

“The message is clear. We have demonstrated that over the last few months. We have arrested a number of persons, no matter their profession, association, ethnicity, colour, creed or class. We go where the investigation takes us,” Superintendent Rowe, who heads FNID, told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

“We arrested and charged the policeman. We target people based on their involvement in criminal activity. The soldier was no different. We arrested him, charged him, and he is now in police custody. The investigations continue, so if it suggests that more charges should be laid, we will lay more charges,” Rowe said, adding that FNID continues to work with local and international partners to pursue and apprehend people who send guns to Jamaica and the ones who collect them or are involved in weapons and drugs trafficking.

Last Saturday, 51-year-old Martin Walker, a detective inspector assigned to the JCF’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC), was charged with possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine, trafficking cocaine, and conspiracy, after being interviewed in the presence of his attorney.

The charges were in relation to the alleged seizure of just over 5.8 kilograms of cocaine in Kingston on Thursday, January 8.

The police said that about 7:10 pm Walker was intercepted at a business establishment on Moore Street, Kingston 4. A vehicle said to be Walker’s was searched and a plastic bag which contained cocaine with an estimated street value of $3.5 million was allegedly found.

Walker is scheduled to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

On Monday, January 5, a member of the Jamaica Defence Force, 36-year-old Odeen Lawrence, was arrested by FIND detectives in relation to the seizure of illegal guns and ammunition.

FNID detectives formally charged him with conspiracy to traffic prohibited weapons and unauthorised possession of ammunition based on the findings from an investigation involving the seizure of 28 firearms and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on December 19, 2025 at the Kingston Logistics Centre.

It marked one of the largest arms seizure at the facility.

According to the police report, investigations led them on January 5 to a premises in White Water Meadows, Spanish Town, St Catherine. The police report stated that upon arrival of the detectives, Lawrence fled on foot, abandoning a Honda Shuttle motor car, which was subsequently seized. A search of the vehicle was said to reveal a 9mm round of ammunition in the glove compartment.

Superintendent Rowe said that FNID has demonstrated that it is an efficient entity and gave assurance to Jamaicans that they can feel comfortable passing on credible information that will lead to more arrests.

“Last year we had an unprecedented year, the most guns seized in the history of Jamaica — 1,201. We have seized over a billion dollars worth of drugs — cocaine and ganja as well as synthetic drugs. We arrested over 200 people. FNID has the highest conviction rate in the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Over 95 per cent of our cases we have secured conviction.

“Those are premises on which any reasonable person can base their assumptions that FNID is an organisation worth contacting. Once we are contacted we will pursue that information with a view to arrest and charge,” Rowe said.