Nice catch! - Cops rid streets of more illegal firearms

At least five illegal firearms were seized by the police over the Christmas weekend, according to reports from the force's Corporate Communications Unit (CCU).

In one incident, a firearm and several rounds of ammunition was recovered at the intersection of Spanish Town and West roads in Kingston 12 on December 26.

Reports from the Denham Town Police are that a motor vehicle with the five men aboard was stopped at a vehicular checkpoint about 2:35 a.m., when the weapon was found. The police said that a Glock 9mm pistol with a magazine containing six 9mm cartridges fell from the car as the occupants were exiting the vehicle.

The men were subsequently taken into custody.

In another incident, two persons were charged following the seizure of an illegal firearm and ammunition in Top Hill, Hayes, Clarendon, on December 24.

Reports are that at about 5 a.m., a police team conducting operations searched the home of 29-year-old Judian Whyte, a sales clerk, and 30-year-old Wayne Spencer, a construction worker, both of Top Hill district in the parish. A Taurus pistol with a magazine and twelve .40 cartridges were allegedly found. They were subsequently arrested and later charged for possession of a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

Also in Clarendon, one firearm and several rounds of ammunition were recovered in two separate incidents on Christmas Day. In one incident, the police were on mobile patrol in May Pen when they stopped to observe a party that was in progress. While there, the team observed a man acting in a suspicious manner. The police said they attempted to accost him; however, he dropped a black knapsack that he was carrying and escaped. The police retrieved the bag and searched it. A Taurus .38 which loaded with four .38 rounds of ammunition was discovered inside.

Another team recovered 12 rounds of assorted ammunition after conducting an operation at Bucknor in the parish about 1:45 p.m.

The police also made a gun find in Old Pen district, Ramble, in Hanover. According to the CCU, a Glock 9mm pistol with a magazine containing eleven rounds of ammunition was seized on December 25.

The Ramble police said that about 11:30 p.m., the team was on mobile patrol in the area when they came upon a group of men at a bar. The men ran and were chased; the firearm and ammunition fell from one of the men and was retrieved by the lawmen. The men escaped in the area.

In St Catherine, police attached to the St Catherine North Division seized one firearm and several rounds of ammunition along March Pen Road on December 24.

Reports indicate that about 9:35 p.m., a police team on patrol in the area saw a group of men standing along the roadway. Upon seeing the police, one of the men ran. He was accosted and searched and a Taurus 9mm pistol with a magazine containing fifteen 9mm cartridges was removed from his waistband.

With illegal firearms figuring in 85 per cent of the country's murders yearly, Jamaica's Parliament recently enacted a new Firearms Act, which imposes harsh sentences for breaches. For example, persons caught with an illegal gun risk being imprisoned for a minimum of 15 years, and up to a life imprisonment.