The police force is establishing what is says will be a well-built team to provide operational and quick response support to its troops in western Jamaica to counter a wave of bloodletting that the authorities are convinced is being driven by lottery scamming.

“Western Jamaica is the area where we are seeing an uptick in murders. It is what is accounting for the increase islandwide. The main issue facing the police, especially in St James, is the violence that rises out of conflicts between people who are involved in lottery scamming. To that extent, we are developing an operational support team at the area level,” Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said as he outlined the constabulary’s response during a news conference at his office in St Andrew on Tuesday.

Stating that it will be “quite a strong team”, General Anderson said it will increase the constabulary’s capacity to mount an operational response to the increase in violent conflicts.

“At the moment, we have another set of police going through quick response training to shore up western Jamaica and other parts of the country,” the commissioner stated.

Between January 1 and April 26 the island recorded 463 murders, 78 of which were committed in St James, while there were 48 in Westmoreland. Overall, compared to the same period last year, 2022 is seeing a 1.1 per cent increase in killings or five more than the 2021 figure from January to April.

General Anderson added that the additional resources will serve to boost the police force’s already active and successful operational mechanisms as they have been smashing some of the operations of lottery scammers and other criminals in western Jamaica.

Just last week, more than US$3.8 million ($551,000,000) and CAD$30,000 ($3,336,000) were seized by the police during a raid at a house in the upscale Coral Gardens community in Montego Bay, St James.

It was described by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang as the largest seizure of illegitimate cash in the history of local police operations.

During the predawn operation, led by the Narcotics Division with the support of the joint anti-gang task force and the divisional police, $88 million worth of cocaine was also seized.

“The main source of funding for criminal gangs is the proceeds from drug trafficking, lottery scamming, arms trafficking, and extortion,” General Anderson said on Tuesday. “These funds are used to fuel gun violence and murder as they carry out their illegal activities and reprisals. From that bust last week, one person remains in custody and the interview process continues as part of the investigations. This was the product of quality intelligence and diligent police work. It was one of the largest seizures in our policing history and I can assure you that, while others may not be as large, there will be more.”

Pointing out that since the start of this year there has been a significant effort on the part of law enforcement to disrupt activities associated with the international drug trade, Anderson said that, over the last weekend, coordinated operations between the police force and its partners resulted in a number of key arrests as well as the seizure of 200 firearms and more than 5,500 rounds of ammunition.

“Since the start of the year, there were 59 [people] arrested in connection with the illicit trade; more than 184 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of US$9.2 million have been seized; [and] just over 7,400 kilograms of ganja, with an estimated street value of US$19.5 million, was seized,” he said.

“For decades the drug trade has fuelled crime and violence in our country. Just like scamming, it is driving acts of violence, spreading death, mayhem, and pain in our communities. Scamming continues to be one of the major drivers of violence in the country. Much of the senseless killings can be directly attributed to conflicts among scammers who sometimes hire gunmen to carry out their killings,” he said.

“Over the weekend, the Jamaica Constabulary Force and partners embarked on a series of coordinated operational activities, targeting scammers and disrupting criminal activities. We took 48 people into custody and arrested 37 of them on reasonable suspicion. Eight wanted people were charged, 16 motor vehicles, 21 electronic devices, and 16 lead sheets were seized. These operations are ongoing and will be a feature of our policing activities,” Anderson said, adding that US$5,000 and J$1 million were seized alongside 2.4 kilograms of cocaine.

Some of the murders committed in western Jamaica this year:

* In March there were two triple murders in Norwood and in Rose Heights, St James.

*Also in March, there was a double murder in Sharen Hill, Green Pond, Montego Bay.

* In January, one man was killed at Salt Spring in St James, just a few hours after three men were gunned down in Providence Heights in the parish.

* In February there was a double murder in Liliput, St James.

* In January there were at least two double murders just three days apart in Westmoreland.

* In April there was a double murder in Big Bridge, Westmoreland.

* In February, a 31-year-old man and his 23-year-old girlfriend were shot dead in Westmoreland at a party, allegedly during a robbery.