Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
IN OCTOBER 2004 when National Security Minister, Peter Phillips, announced the formation of Operation Kingfish, doubting Thomases not only scoffed at the formation of another elite unit within the Jamaica Constabulary Force, they snickered at its aquatic name.
Given the chequered record of its predecessors, their scepticism seemed justified.
But during the past two weeks, Operation Kingfish has figured in two major efforts that has won over some naysayers. The first took place on October 31 when they were part of a team that travelled to the remote district of Rock River in Clarendon and killed Jamaica's most wanted man, Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett, in an alleged shoot-out.
One week later, on November 8, a Kingfish team intercepted a shipment of arms at the Kingston Wharves. According to the unit's leader, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Glenmore Hinds, the cache, which included 20 guns and an assortment of ammunition, was meant for the Clansman Gang in Spanish Town which Bennett led until the time of his death.
While the police have been criticised for not preparing for the two days of riots that took place in Spanish Town the day following Bennett's death, ACP Hinds told The Gleaner that one year after it debuted to much ridicule, Operation Kingfish has been vindicated.
"The mandate is to really dismantle the major criminal networks and we estimate that there are 13 such major networks operating in Jamaica," said ACP Hinds on Friday. "They were all involved in drug trafficking, illegal gun running and extortion. What we do is consolidate intelligence collected years ago on these organisations, analyse it and develop operational approaches to create new leads.
200 KINGFISH ARRESTS
According to statistics provided by Minister Phillips in a televised address last Sunday, that methodical approach has worked. He says Operation Kingfish has racked up over 200 arrests including that of Kevin 'Richie Poo' Tyndale, a top man in the notorious Gideon Warriors gang.
ACP Hinds, a 30-year member of the JCF, says his team unsettled two of the country's most feared criminal outfits before zooming on the Clansman leader. Following the arrest of Tyndale in St. James in February, the Gideon Warriors from Papine have taken a low profile, so too activity in Matthews Lane, west Kingston which was led by Donald 'Zekes' Phipps.
Tyndale and Zekes are in custody awaiting trial on murder charges.
However, the biggest scalp was that of Bennett, who police linked to over 100 murders in the past 24 hours and was on the run from the law for over 10 years. The St. Catherine North Police Division reports that violence between the Clansman and One Order gangs in Spanish Town is responsible for most of the over 400 murders there during the past two years.
Derrick Smith, the Jamaica Labour Party's Spokesman on National Security, raised several questions about the 'Bulbie' operation; some, he says, still have not been answered. He says Operation Kingfish needs to do more before they get the total support of the public.
"I won't say they haven't been doing some good work, but it's not at the point where I'm totally acclaiming them," Mr. Smith told The Gleaner. "Remember, 'Bulbie' was out there for 10 years and he wasn't hiding. He was getting support from the PNP and members of the police force."
Last week, Mr. Phillips announced plans to strengthen Operation Kingfish's investigating arm by merging it with the JCF's Homicide Unit and divisional officers of the Central Investigation Branch. ACP Hinds believes the increase in numbers will make his team even more efficient in a fight he says is far from over.
"We have not fully satisfied the mandate yet, certainly not," he said. "We would have disrupted a few but they are still operating at different levels so the push continues to totally dismantle the major criminal networks."
