By Omar Anderson and John Myers, Gleaner Reporters
National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips (left) converses with Deputy Commissioner of Police Tilford Johnson, at yesterday's press briefing held at the Oxford Road, New Kingston, office of the Ministry of National Security. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
POLICE YESTERDAY seized dozens of rounds of high-powered ammunition on the same day National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips said he was dissatisfied with efforts to curb the frequency with which illegal guns and ammunition reach Jamaica from international ports.
"What we are seeking to do is to place an equivalent focus on the question of gun inflows into the country as we do in relation to drugs," Dr. Phillips said at a press conference at his Ministry's Oxford Road office in New Kingston. He said a lot of the country's intelligence needs to be focused on illegal firearms getting into the country.
"It will mean trying to persuade our international partners to place an equivalent concern in that regard," he said, admitting some countries have been improving in that area.
A joint police/military operation in the violence-prone area of Mountain View Avenue yesterday resulted in the seizure of over 100 rounds of ammunition. No one was arrested in connection with the find.
Inspector Cleveland Hood of the Vineyard Town Police Station described yesterday's recovery as significant and said it was the first major find since the start of the year in that area. "You are talking about the number of lives that would have been lost if those ammunition were to be used, so it is a significant find," he said.
Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime Lucius Thomas said the police "were doing everything possible to remove the guns from off the street, but said the police cannot do the job alone, we need the imput of residents."
He noted, too, that yesterday a team, led by Det. Inspector Donovan O'Connor, seized an M-16 rifle and several rounds ammunition in the Jacks Hill area of St. Andrew. Close to 200 illegal guns have been seized by the police since January.
"But we need to do a lot more of what we are doing as we continue to take the guns off the street," said Deputy Commissioner Thomas.
The National Security Minister noted that the Government would not shirk its responsibility to implement measures to help stop the tide of illegal guns and ammunition passing through the island's ports. He also reiterated the point that drug trafficking remains a serious threat to the country.
POLITICAL CORRUPTION
"There is no doubt that there are many institutions, including political institutions, politicians, businessmen, members of the legal profession who have found themselves woven into the network of narco trading," he said. "That does not mean that all of them are necessarily guilty of criminal offences."
While refusing to call names, or identify any specific group or profession, the Minister said he had information there were persons with "linkages and affinities we consider to be wrong."
On Wednesday, Dr. Phillips said there were unnamed politicians who had links to the drug trade, warning them to sever ties with dons involved in violence and drugs.
"What we are trying to say is that parliamentarians need to be particularly aware of their own status, role and influence in the society, and be very careful about not sending confused signals in that regard," he said.
