Cops wary of guns being shipped in relief supplies

Police are on the lookout for smugglers attempting to ship weapons into the country under the cover of humanitarian aid.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Patrae Rowe told THE STAR that criminals are already moving to exploit the chaos.

"In the business of drugs and guns, we believe that the people who are trafficking will use the hurricane response as an opportunity to send guns," he said. "We have seized guns as a part of our heightened vigilance in this period and our intelligence suggests that traffickers are exploiting the relief effort to ship guns."

Rowe, who heads the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said the security forces have ramped up port checks and tightened screening measures for incoming relief shipments.

"We have put things in place to increase our vigilance, work with our stakeholders to ensure that we intercept these guns whenever they come in. So far our efforts have been successful and we continue to be vigilant," he said.

Rowe noted that even as Jamaica focuses on humanitarian relief, the police cannot allow criminals to take advantage of the country's vulnerable moment.

"Jamaica is showing significant humanitarian effort in ensuring that we respond to the persons most affected by Hurricane Melissa, but at the same time, we are not reneging on our commitment to the Jamaican people to ensure that post-Melissa recovery, we continue to enjoy peace and safety in our country," he said.

Despite the overwhelming demands of disaster recovery, Rowe said the fight against illegal guns has not slowed.

"We continue to be unrelenting in our efforts to intercept drugs and guns. We have not eased up; we believe that we have the stamina and the latitudes to cater to the needs of our people in their most vulnerable moment and still pursue the fight against firearm trafficking and drug trafficking."

Lawmen are also monitoring . One month and five days after floodwaters covered communities and swept through bushlands as the hurricane made landfall, concerns have started to mount that hidden guns long tucked away in stash houses and makeshift containers may have been displaced by the storm's force. Rowe said that investigators are treating the possibility seriously.

"Anecdotally we think that guns were displaced," he said. "I would have to do an analysis to see the numbers post-Hurricane Melissa, but we continue to seize guns at a high rate because since the start of the year we have seized 1,076."

In sections of western Jamaica where scamming money easily affords a firearm, the possibility of weapons drifting into new spaces or into the hands of those who stumble upon them is not farfetched. Police teams are now monitoring areas where flooding may have compromised underground hideouts and illicit storage locations.