Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
Security forces rush back to their vehicles after the St. James Area One Police-led 'Operation Alpha' raided the Cornwall Beach Complex, in Montego Bay, yesterday. On Wednesday the lawmen seized 114 pounds of ganja, 57 pieces crack cocaine and 35 Ecstasy tablets. Operation Alpha is slated to run until December. - CLAUDINE HOUSEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE AREA One police have stepped up their anti-crime activities with a new initiative dubbed 'Operation Alpha', which is set to zero in on crime-plagued communities in St. James, Trelawny, Hanover and Westmoreland.
'Operation Alpha', which will run until December, is a partnership between the four divisions and is intelligence driven," stated Assistant Commissioner of Police Keith 'Trinity' Gardner, officer in charge of Area One.
"The crime plan is targeting areas plagued with serious crimes and, to that end, a substantial number of criminal actors have been identified and we are in the process of bringing them to book."
DRUGS SEIZED
Yesterday, the team, including members of the Canine Division, was spotted during a raid on the Cornwall Beach Complex on Gloucester Avenue.
Three men, including a security guard, were detained in connection with the seizure of 37 pieces of crack cocaine.
The lawmen also detained 14 other persons following operations at Railway Lane and the Montego Bay Transport Centre.
On Wednesday, a joint security team stormed sections of Montego Bay, including the Fantasy Craft Market and the Old Shoes Arcade, seizing 114 pounds of ganja, 57 pieces of crack cocaine and 35 Ecstasy tablets.
PERSONS DETAINED
Thirty-nine persons were detained, five of whom were charged with breaches of the Dangerous Drug and the Pharmaceutical Acts. Forty vehicles have also been impounded under the new initiative.
Trevor Davis, a 25-year-old labourer of Railway Lane in Montego Bay, was arrested for possession of Ecstasy pills and an offensive weapon.
Four women - identified as 43-year-old Sharon Bell, of North Gully, 42-year-old Donna Grey, Lorna Grey, a 38-year-old shopkeeper, and 28-year-old Nicole Watson, a vendor - all of Catherine Hall addresses, were jailed for possession of and dealing in cocaine.
Reports are that between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., 38 shops at the Fantasy Craft Market, located on Gloucester Avenue, the famed Hip Strip, were searched and a quantity of ganja found.
Davis was held at the Old Shoes Market in the section adjacent to Harbour Street, where 25 stalls were searched.
The pieces of crack cocaine were allegedly found in a house occupied by the women.
