Jamaica: Police seize guns, ammunition in two-day operation in St Thomas

Jamaica: In a two day operation from Friday, October 10 to Saturday October 11, police in St Thomas reported to have seized two guns which included an assault rifle and 30 rounds of ammunition. The first operation took place on Sapphire Avenue in Lyssons and the second along the main road in Morant Bay.

In the first operation, which occurred around 9:25 am on Friday, the officers searched a residence occupied by a 78-year old man on Sapphire Avenue. During the search, they found a magazine containing sixteen 9mm rounds of ammunition hidden inside a printer in one of the bedrooms.

During the second search operation on Saturday night, around 10:30 pm, the police were conducting operations along Stanton main road when they signaled the driver of a Honda CRV to pull over. The driver complied. After searching the man and the vehicle, they found an AM-15 multi calibre rifle which had two magazines. In one of the magazines were 9 rounds of 5.56 ammunition. Also they found a Taurus 9mm pistol which had a magazine of 4 rounds of 9mm calibre and a single.22 round.

Both the 78-year old man and the driver from the two search operations were taken into police custody, but their identity has not been released to the public as the investigation is still ongoing.

Police said that these seizures are a part of their ongoing effort to reduce gun violence and remove illegal weapons from St Thomas. The investigations into both incidents are still active as the authorities try to determine the source of the weapons and if the cases are connected.

Authorities have urged the citizens to continue to cooperate with the police to help make the communities safe.