ST ANN, Jamaica — Three men who were listed as wanted by the St Ann police are among seven people arrested since the launch of “Operation Leviticus”.

The initiative, which began on August 12, is aimed at restoring law and order in the parish.

Acting head of the St Ann police, Superintendent David Whyte, told OBSERVER ONLINE that the three wanted men are 37-year-old Miguel Riley, who was wanted for wounding with intent; Nkosona Barrett, who was wanted for unlawful wounding; and Curtis McAnuff, who had an outstanding warrant.

Whyte added that of the seven individuals in custody, four were arrested on Tuesday for breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act, and lawmen also seized 51 pounds of ganja. The operation, he said, was the most extensive since the initiative began last week. Among the areas covered were Llandovery, which Whyte said is considered a “death spot” because of the number of traffic crashes that have occurred there.

Operations were also carried out along the border of Trelawny and St Ann.

“For [Tuesday] alone we have made four arrests and those were under the Dangerous Drugs [Act]. We… seized motor vehicles, served over 51 summons… have issued more than 27 tickets. We will continue to treat with those operations to see if we can get some hoodlums off the street,” Whyte said.

The Superintendent said the operation, named after the third book in the Bible, which speaks of biblical laws, is another indication to criminals that St Ann is not their safe haven.

The four-week-long operation will also target other crash hotspots in the parish, according to Whyte. After a month, its effectiveness will be assessed but the plan is to keep the initiative going.

While acknowledging that St Ann needs more lawmen on the ground, Whyte noted that the lack of manpower has not hampered the operation so far.

“There is no doubt that right across the JCF there is a shortage of manpower. We would love to have at least 200 more police officers in St Ann to really assist us in stemming the crime trend within the parish. I know that the JCF had started their recruiting drive, we have quite a few taking place in St Ann. We hope that [through] the different graduations that will be coming up we will be getting some manpower to enhance our operational drive across the parish,” he said.