Big gun seizure increase by St Andrew North cops
Published:Monday | July 28, 2025 | 12:07 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
The St Andrew North police have recorded a 225 per cent increase in seizure of illegal firearms since the start of the year.
The latest gun seizure occurred Sunday at a dance along Mannings Hill Road.
Superintendent Randy Sweeney, head of the St Andrew North Police Division, said 39 illegal guns have been removed from the streets and, by extension, the hands of criminals.
This is 27 more than the 12 seized for the corresponding period in 2024.
In the latest seizure, about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, the police and military conducted a targeted raid at 39 Mannings Hill Road where a party was being held.
The Gleaner understands that, during a search of the bar area, a black one-strap bag was found to contain a silver and black Taurus .38 revolver with serial number affixed.
The firearm also contained six .38 rounds.
No one was arrested with the seizure of the prohibited weapon.
Sweeney reportedly led a team of police and external stakeholders on a walkthrough in the Seaview Road and Airy Castle community in Stony Hill last Friday to ease tension among residents.
A week earlier, the community recorded one murder.
The deceased, Allister ‘Rohan’ Denny, was shot and killed while on his way to work.
Murders in the division, as at July 19, were down 38 per cent with 21 homicides when compared to 34 for the period under review last year.
Sweeney said that, within the past few weeks, several offenders of the prohibited weapon charge have been sentenced to life in prison.
Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake, in his weekly ‘Commissioners Corner’, commended members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for their continued success in reducing violent crime as the country records one of its most significant quarterly declines in murders in decades.
Blake reported that, with the remaining days in the month, murders had decreased by 33 compared to the same period last July, an almost 43-per-cent reduction.
The commissioner said the figure also represented a 33-case drop in murders so far for the third quarter of 2025.
The announcement follows a trend of sustained reductions in major crimes since the beginning of the year.
Overall major crimes have declined by 16 per cent.
Blake credited the decline to the tireless efforts of police personnel across all divisions and reiterated the importance of maintaining operational momentum.
“Remember colleagues, our aim is to keep the momentum going, and to continue to deny the gangsters freedom to kill and maim and hold our communities hostage,” he said to his charges.
The JCF said it has been executing a focused deterrence strategy targeting key violence producers, supported by increased intelligence-led operations, enhanced community engagement, and coordinated inter-agency efforts.