The eight guns and ammunition confiscated this year. - file

The Gun Court landed one of its heaviest blows to date on the illicit guns-for-drugs trade when a 120-year sentence was handed down on a man who was caught with eight illegal guns traced to Haitian soil.

Courtney Jones, a 43-year-old taxi operator, will have enough time in prison to reflect and regret his move as he serves his sentence. Jones was caught by a multinational criminal dragnet created by Kingfish operatives in Haiti and Jamaica earlier this year.

Police reports are that about midday on February 8, a dark blue Nissan Sunny motor car was stopped along King Street in Old Harbour. The vehicle, which was being driven by Jones, was searched and eight high-tech guns were found, along with 90 assorted rounds of ammunition. This operation was jointly conducted by Kingfish operatives and personnel from the Mobile Reserve.

"These guns in the hands of the right persons could be fired accurately in excess of two miles away," a senior Kingfish operative had said as he commented on the weapons.

On May 6, Jones entered a plea of guilty in the Corporate Area Gun Court, and was sentenced on Monday to a whopping 120 years in prison after being slapped with 15 years for each illegal weapon.

The court, however, ordered that Jones serve all the sentences concurrently, resulting in his jail time being reduced to 15 years, a mere fraction of his sentence. Operation Kingfish said it was satisfied with the case, adding that its decision to place operatives in Haiti was netting invaluable intelligence.

intelligence

"Our intelligence indicated the guns had just come from Haiti. We were tracking them from operatives in Haiti, who have proved invaluable in our efforts. Just recently, their intelligence led to the seizure of 2,000 lb (909 kilograms) of ganja on a boat with three Jamaicans and one Haitian," said spokesperson for Kingfish, Jubert Llewellyn.

"We are looking at other hotbeds in the guns-for-drugs trade, like The Bahamas, as there has been increased activity in the illicit trade from that region. We see where Bahamians even provide logistic aid to Haitian smugglers in boat operations, so we would like to send operatives elsewhere, as they have been invaluable in Haiti," Llewellyn added.