Commissioner Says Police Determined To Arrest Coke

Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, has voiced the determination of the police to serve the arrest warrant on Christopher Coke, who is wanted on drug and gun charges in the United States.
“We will catch him, we will execute that warrant and he will face justice,” he told a press conference at Up-Park Camp Friday (May 28). Mr. Ellington said that police intelligence has suggested that Mr. Coke is still in Jamaica.
A warrant has been out for Mr. Coke since Friday (May 22), the signing of which triggered unrest in downtown Kingston and led to the security forces moving in to take control of the situation.
Commissioner Ellington said that the unrest broke out, as many of Coke’s supporters perceive him as being above the law and believe he should not be extradited to face the charges.
The unrest has led to attacks on 14 police stations, with two of them being destroyed by fire. Three members of the security forces were killed, while the number of civilian deaths now stands at 73. The police also detained 700 persons as a result of the operation.
The media was today, presented with graphic evidence of the preparations criminals in Tivoli Gardens had made to wage an all-out assault on the security forces, with videos, as well as photos of improvised explosive devices, guns, strategic barricades and sniper posts set up by the criminals
A total of 22 firearms and about 7,000 assorted rounds of ammunition, were recovered.