Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterTHE JAMAICA Association of Pharmacy Owners (JAPO) has requested a meeting with Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas to address the recent incidence of several pharmacies being robbed.
"At least eight pharmacies have been held up and robbed over the past three weeks," a spokesperson at JAPO told The Gleaner yesterday.
The spokesperson was speaking against the background of Thursday night's robbery at the Sunrise Pharmacy and Gift Centre on Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, where a police inspector was shot and injured and the security guard on duty killed. The guard has since been identified as Nasseem Russell of Gibraltar Security Company.
CONCENTRATED EFFORT
"I believe that we are being targeted," said the spokesperson, who noted that all the robberies have taken place in the Corporate Area.
Opposition Spokesman on National Security, Derrick Smith, said Thursday's shooting occurred on the same complex where his constituency office is located.
"Thursday night's incident has confirmed information coming to me that there is a concentrated effort by criminals, in targeting pharmacies over the past few weeks," said Mr. Smith.
485 ROBBERIES SINCE JANUARY
Police records reveal that since January there have been over 485 reported cases of robberies islandwide.
Last month National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips told The Gleaner that there was likely to be an increase in 'big ticket robberies' as players in the narcotics drug trade move to replace lost income. Phillips said this is in response to the success by the security forces in disrupting the drug trade in Jamaica.
The National Security Minister based his argument on the experience of the British security authorities, who first experienced a rise in crime before a decline, during Operation Trident. This was targeted at drug-related gangs in the United Kingdom during the 1990s.
