By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
FOURTEEN PERSONS from across the island were taken into police custody between last Friday and Sunday for breaches of the Firearms Act.
The number of illegal guns seized by the police, since the start of the year now stands at 303.
In St. James alone seven residents were detained on the weekend, for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition. Those in the parish arrested and charged for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition are:
Kemar Brown, 19, labourer; Germaine Stephenson, 21; Omeila 'Slim Dread' James; Damar Cox, 18, also known as Richard; George Cooper, 25 year-old plumber of Tucker district, Irwin; Ronald Samuel's 22-year old unemployed, of Crawford Street; Howard 'House' Spence, 21, also of Crawford Street.
The police told The Gleaner that during a raid in the Rose Heights community of St. James between 5:00 a.m. and 7: 00 a.m. Sunday, they recovered a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver with five live rounds of ammunition. The lawmen report that the gun was found in the possession of Brown. The other three men -Stephenson, James and Cox -who were allegedly in the house at 'Matches Lane,' Rose Heights at the time of the gun seizure, were also arrested and charged by the Montego Bay police.
Meanwhile, at about 9:30 on Friday night, the Montego Bay police was carrying out a special operation at Cornwall Gardens in St. James, when they spotted three men standing in an alley.
According to the police, one of the men was seen removing an object from his waist and giving it to another man. On the approach of the police, the man who received the object, allegedly, dropped it to the ground.
CCN Liaison Officer for St. James, Lancelot Tyrell, notes that when the object was retrieved, it was found to be a .32 semi-automatic pistol.
He also reports that another man in the group was searched and found in possession a .38 Taurus revolver, bearing the serial number PA364257. The revolver had four live rounds of ammunition.
Meantime, three men are to appear in the Ocho Rios Resident Magistrate's Court on September 23 to answer to charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition and possession of and dealing in ganja.
Charged jointly with possession of and dealing in ganja are: Nineteen-year old Rudolph Alexander, 27-year-old Kenrick Brown and 18-year-old Omar Gaynor. Alexander and Brown were slapped with additional charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition and possession of an imitation firearm respectively.
The police report that about 5:30 am on Friday, it carried out an operation in the Ocho Rios area. During the operation, they went to a construction site where a shipping container, which is used as a makeshift guardhouse, was searched. Ganja weighing 500grams was discovered in a plastic bag in the container.
The police made another discovery when they searched Alexander, Brown and Gaynor who were occupying the container. A home-made firearm with a .38 cartridge and two additional cartridges were found in Alexander's possession. Meanwhile, the lawmen found an imitation firearm in Brown's possession.
In the meantime, the Clarendon Police on the weekend arrested two persons, 37-year old Franz Lewis and Elaine Lewis of a Rectory Road address, on breaches of the Firearms Act.
