-in attack on drugs-for-guns syndicate

(Jamaica Gleaner) Police in St Elizabeth are on the hunt for the sole survivor of a group of five gunmen who engaged lawmen in a shoot-out on Monday.

The man, police say, is the leader of the Sacha gang, which has been behind the illicit drugs-for-guns trade operating between Jamaica and Haiti.

The police would not release the man’s name as investigations intensified, but they said citizens should be on the lookout for an injured man of Indian descent.

The lawmen said a blood trail had been found and they believed the man had been shot.

On Monday evening, police identified the four men who were shot in a gun battle with the police along the Luana main road in St Elizabeth.

They are Dwayne Cotterwell, of Whitehouse, Westmoreland; Andrew Lloyd, aka ‘Andy’, of Bogue, St Elizabeth; Luke Young, aka ‘Lukie Screw’, 34, painter of Naggo Head, St Catherine, and Donovan Dunkley, alias ‘Little Head’, 29, conductor, of Whitehouse.

The gang is known to be part of the drugs-for-guns syndicate operating primarily in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, Clarendon and St Catherine.

Approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday, members of the Trans National Crime and Narcotics Division, NIB/Kingfish, the police-military task force, and the St Elizabeth police were carrying out an operation in the Luana area when they observed a grey Toyota Corolla travelling along the main road.

Guns seized

The driver was signalled to stop. He complied, but five men allegedly alighted with guns barking. The police returned the fire and four were shot dead. Police seized eight guns from the men. They included one Mack 10 sub-machine gun; one Mack 11 sub-machine gun and six 9mm pistols.

The police said members of the syndicate had been under surveillance for more than a year and were observed leaving Jamaica for Haiti on November 27. They returned to Jamaica on Sunday at the Whitehouse Beach in Westmoreland and were in the process of transporting guns and ammunition acquired in Haiti to Old Harbour.

The Bureau of Special Investigations is currently probing the incident.