Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

POLICE OPERATIONS in the St Catherine North Division on Saturday led to the seizure of five illegal guns and several men being detained for questioning. Meantime two men were killed in an alleged shootout by the police.

Reports are that about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday, a police party was on patrol in the Royal Place area, outside Spanish Town, St Catherine. Upon reaching Elisha Crescent, four men allegedly brandished firearms and started to shoot at the police.

According to the police, during the ensuing gunfight, 20-year-old Martin Manley, otherwise called 'Butter', and 29-year-old Marlon Whyte, otherwise called 'Glock-head', were shot and killed. Two guns and 15 live rounds were seized. The police said Whyte, who was on a murder charge, was on bail.

In the other incident, about 5 a.m. on Saturday, members of the Mobile Reserve, along with military personnel, raided a dance near Tawes Pen. Three illegal guns were seized and dozens of men detained by the lawmen for questioning related to various crimes committed in the police division. Forty pounds of ganja was also seized.

Twenty men still remain in custody.

28 rounds of ammunition

The Kingston Eastern police said Saturday that they had seized three illegal firearms and 28 rounds of ammunition between Wednesday morning and Friday evening.

In addition, a home-made gun with 1.38 cartridges was handed over to the Mandeville police on Saturday by a taxi driver who overpowered a gunman.

According to the Constabulary Communication Network, at 12:35 p.m on Saturday, two men posing as passengers boarded a taxi in Mandeville. Upon reaching the vicinity of Royal Flat, one of the men pulled a gun on the taxi driver and ordered him to stop the car. The driver stopped the car, pulled a machete and attacked the bandits. The thieves ran from the car, leaving the gun behind.