By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
Superintendent James Forbes (right) and Deputy Superintendent Cornwall 'Bigga' Ford (left) confer with soldiers before searching a premises in Hannah Town, West Kingston. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
THE GOVERNMENT'S new crime fighting initiative had its first taste of success yesterday when members of the security forces seized four handguns, scores of spent shells and several detonator wires, during separate operations in Kingston.
The weapons, which included a .22 Derringer revolver and three pistols, were apparently packaged and shipped from the United States to Jamaica.
The four new palm-sized handguns, were found wrapped in plastic paper and neatly placed inside the cases of video cassettes.
Head of the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), Superintendent James Forbes, said the "contaminated" cases were packed in boxes that contained other cassettes.
While declining to say exactly where the guns had been found, head of the St. Andrew Central Division, Superintendent Leon Rose was pleased with the discovery.
"We are extremely encouraged by this find. This is an indication of the various methodologies of police investigations that have been put into place resulting in this particular find today," said Supt. Rose.
There were no arrests and the officer declined to comment about the group or gang linked to the find.
Elsewhere in Hannah Town, West Kingston, where the lawmen imposed a curfew for the third day in a row, tons of debris was cleared from open lots and abandoned buildings as the search for illegal guns in that community was intensified.
Several houses were forcibly entered by the lawmen. Occupants of the houses, whose doors and padlocks were damaged during the operations, were promised compensation.
"Dem lick off the padlock dem off a my shop, but dem give me $500 to buy back the locks. I don't have any problem with them," said Carmen Johnson, a shopkeeper of Upper Oxford Street.
Dark cellars, roofs and man-holes were searched but no guns were found. Students, adults and traffic entering and leaving the area were also searched.
"While searching some of the abandoned buildings we came across rubber tubes in freshly dug places which leaves us to believe that guns were hidden there but removed before we came," said Deputy Superintendent Cornwall "Bigga" Ford.
According to DSP Ford, the next step is to bulldoze some of the abandoned buildings but the police will first try to make contact with owners of the premises.
"The success of this operation is not the number of guns that we find or the amount of ammunition. The success is allowing people to live normal lives, reducing the fear factor of crime, crippling the gangs from moving around and disrupting social life and returning a sense of decency and social order to these communities. That is how the success will be measured," said Superintendent James Forbes, who was part of the operation.
The search was also intensified in the Payne Avenue community but up to late yesterday evening nothing had been found.
