Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
SINCE THE start of the year, there has been an increase in robberies and reports of extortion.
Police records have revealed that up to Thursday, there was a three per cent increase in robberies. The current figure of 848 reported cases is 24 more than the number reported for the corresponding period for last year.
Reports also reveal that some of the biggest robberies have taken place on the north coast and in western Jamaica, but just last week robbers struck at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), in Spaldings, Clarendon.
The monthly crime figures released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), indicate that the highest reported cases of robberies for April, took place in Clarendon, which had 28, followed by St. Andrew Central, 21, St. Andrew North, 19, St. Catherine South, 16 and St. Andrew South, 11.
PROTECTION
Head of the Narcotics Police Division, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson told The Gleaner last week that the guns which were used to protect the cocaine trade are still in the hands of criminals and will be used to do various things to generate an income.
Following the arrest of several key players in the cocaine trade two years ago, National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips warned last year that there was likely to be an increase in "big ticket robberies", as players in the narcotics trade moved to replace lost income.
The minister also said that in addition to large-scale robberies, displaced drug networks would be seeking to intensify their efforts at extortion and other nefarious acts.
But the narcotics chief outlined that while there has been an increase in ganja production, there is a significant reduction in cocaine seizure. His team has also discovered that there is a resurgence in efforts by smugglers to use aircraft to transport drugs.
"This has a ballooning effect; there seems to be a shift now from the central Caribbean to the eastern Caribbean islands such as Trinidad, Guyana and Curaçao," said SSP Wilson.
The police said while there was a downward trend in cocaine trafficking they would not become complacent.
"We have to find innovative ways to stay one step ahead of the smugglers," said the narcotics chief. "We are also looking at several other factors which we may attribute to the reduction of the cocaine seizure," he added.
