Cop arrested in gun selling probe

When a resident of the quiet farming community of Florence Hill, St Andrew, saw the area being swarmed with police yesterday, he said he was not surprised.

The man said he had long suspected that illegal activities were happening in the area but had no idea that a cop was allegedly among the wrongdoers.

"I never know say the little youth was a police until the arrest make dis morning (yesterday) but what mi know for a fact say some funny business did a gwan up a dis side. How mi know is when mi start see all type a traffic a come up dis side some various hours a night and the type a people mi see a come outta di car dem, mi know a never prayer meeting a keep," he said.

According to the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) High Command, a constable has been taken into custody after two prohibited firearms were seized during a targeted, intelligence-led operation, part of an ongoing investigation into illicit firearms trafficking. Intelligence reportedly indicated that the officer was involved in the illegal sale of guns.

The resident told THE STAR that he thought the cops were only searching for wanted men "because more time yuh see some little strange face in the place". He opined that seeing a cop being detained can erode trust.

"See tings like this is what make people nuh trust police. Just imagine if people did know say gun deh bout and report it, you coulda report it to who a sell dem. One time a bare farmer up here but now the man dem a farm guns and dem have the law on dem side too," the resident said.

The High Command described the development as a major breakthrough in the force's fight against the illegal gun trade, which remains one of its top crime-fighting priorities. In a statement, the JCF stressed that there is no place in the organisation for officers who use their positions to undermine the law.

Hours later, police also recovered another firearm in an abandoned building in Mount Charles in Lawrence Tavern, St Andrew. The Taurus Armas 9mm pistol with a magazine affixed was found in a black shopping bag. No arrest was made in connection to this seizure.

Since the start of the year, 42 illegal firearms have been recovered by the security forces in the St Andrew North Police Division; 12 were seized in the corresponding period in 2024.