August Town will be nice again
Cops promise to clean up community
Following an operation in August Town yesterday in which more than 60 persons were detained, including one individual who is wanted for murder, Assistant Commissioner of Police Devon Watkis said the police will be working to return the community to its 2016 murder-free status.
Pointing out that there is always a police presence in the area, Watkis said that following the violent flare-ups that are linked to an ongoing gang feud, the presence of the security forces has been elevated.
“We have a consistency of numbers which is geared at trying to keep the people safe,” he said.
Nine persons of interest were among those held by the police yesterday. A quantity of weapons was also seized.
With the aim of ridding the Corporate Area of violence producers, Watkis said that the security forces will be carrying out a number of secondary operations to flush out criminals who have run to other areas.
“We will follow them wherever they go and it has started paying dividends. The overall goal of transforming the space, means us transforming our approaches for future communities that will exist with a changed environment,” he said.
For crime-free communities to be a reality, Watkis said the courts, investigators, and citizens will have to play their part.
“In the event that residents think that the presence of the police and the army slows their movement, it is a sacrifice that I would encourage them to continue to embrace until we can normalise our communities,” he said.
According to the Montego Bay police, at about 1:45 a.m., a police team was carrying out a routine patrol in downtown Montego Bay when they stopped a Toyota Corolla motor car with three men on board. The men were ordered to exit the vehicle.
While the men were being searched, the police said they discovered that Blidgen had a Black Springfield, Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol, fitted with a magazine with 12 live rounds of ammunition, tucked in the front of his pants. It was ascertained, after questioning, that the weapon was illegal.
Blidgen is the second Montego Bay-based member of the JDF to be arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in recent weeks.
In early October, 26-year-old private Orane Samuels Scott, who resides at Crescent district in St Catherine, but was a member of the Zone of Special Operations team based in Mt Salem, was arrested after he was allegedly held with an illegal firearm in Crescent district.