Manchester woman among trio arrested in major arms shipment probe
US secretary of state commits to helping Jamaica stop flow of guns from US
Published:Friday | March 28, 2025 | 12:13 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
The Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) swooped down on the community of Kingsland in Manchester on Wednesday and arrested a bar operator who allegedly collected a barrel at a wharf in Kingston containing an arms shipment from the United States (US).
Two male relatives of the woman were reportedly questioned and taken into custody in relation to the probe which began when the shipment was intercepted earlier this month.
Head of the FNID, Senior Superintendent Samuel Blake told The Gleaner yesterday that the police are preparing a press statement on the development, which would be released momentarily. However, up to press time, the statement had not been received.
Residents of Kingsland said they were shocked to see the security forces who blanketed the community.
A resident who spoke to The Gleaner said they were disappointed that the woman was allegedly mixed up in the gun bust, and the incident left a stigma on the area.
“Look weh you a sell the man dem fi kill dem one another and fi rob people. Police go over the yard and find one barrel a gun weh she a sell. It come from some address a Florida to she ... . Whole heap a police run in on here yesterday (Wednesday). They took she and another little relative. She deh a station and dem deh a station,” the community member said.
The Gleaner understands that the suspect operates a bar in the area and recently lost her father in a suspected case of suicide.
“She just lose her father last month and now she get herself ina trouble. The incident Wednesday is like wild fire in the community, everybody talking about it, a pure police come down here,” another resident said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Jamaica on Wednesday and after meeting with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and other government officials, commented on the discussions that were held on security and other foreign policy related matters.
Rubio said the US has acknowledged that many of the guns and other weapons used by gangs to commit acts of violence here in Jamaica are purchased in the US and shipped to the island.
“We want to do more to commit to stopping that flow at the same time as we do more to commit to increasing your capacity. That’s the only thing that I underline. What we are talking about here when we talk about American assistance is America helping Jamaica to build its own capacity, its own ability to confront these challenges and solve these problems, because security is a baseline for everything,” Rubio told journalists.
Holness said that, during the meeting, they addressed several critical areas of cooperation and security was a major area.
“We reaffirmed our commitment to enhancing cooperation in combating transnational crime, ensuring the collective safety of our citizens and mutually secured borders. We discussed a global war on gangs and there is already significant policy alignment with both countries in this regard. The United States has been instrumental in supporting Jamaica’s efforts to bolster its marine domain awareness and intelligence surveillance capabilities, which are crucial in our fight against organised criminal networks,” Holness said.
“This will exponentially expand our cooperation in fighting lottery scammers, transnational organised crime, trafficking in guns, and building safer communities.”
Over the last four months, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) seized 148 illegal firearms and approximately 8,000 assorted rounds shipped from the US to legitimate ports of entry, namely the wharves.
Last week Tuesday, the JCF said in a release that the crackdown continues on the illegal trafficking of firearms and a joint operation by members of the JCA, and the FNID resulted in the seizure of 30 firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition at a warehouse on Marcus Garvey Drive.
The FNID head stated then that the police have been ramping up efforts with various stakeholders to disrupt the trafficking of weapons and illegal drugs in Jamaica.
“Every firearm seized is a victory for the JCF and Jamaica. We continue our relentless work to find individuals seeking to curtail the JCF’s violence-reduction efforts. We continue to leverage our partnership with international bodies to dismantle crime syndicates,” said Blake.