Jamaican gang linked to crime surge in Turks and Caicos

Law enforcement officials in British overseas territory Turks and Caicos (TCI) say its surge in gang violence is related to a Jamaican gang and serious transnational crime, and are now engaged in talks with Jamaican lawmen about their concern.

This was revealed by Jamaica’s Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson on Tuesday.

“I have been speaking with the commissioner of police in Turks and Caicos. We have been having those discussions, and I know there are some other discussions taking place at [the] government-to-government level.

“We already are working from an intelligence perspective together on this. It’s early discussions, and I think that I will leave it there for now,” the police commissioner said.

While not divulging too much information on the matter, Anderson pledged that “as things develop, we will certainly update on that.”

Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands Nigel John Dakin while speaking in the House of Assembly on the surge in gang violence in their country said the trans-regional criminal links to their country makes a strengthened intelligence exchange a priority.”

Speaking on the latest shooting incidents, the governor said, following an attack in Long Bay on Sunday night against those who were allegedly associated with local drug dealers, and where an innocent visitor from the US was killed, a Police Tactical Unit on patrol intercepted the assailants. 

The police vehicle was hit by multiple strikes from high-velocity rounds.

The governor said several months ago two local gangs lost their leadership.

An extremely violent local gang leader was shot dead by police while resisting arrest. The other, a Haitian gang leader, who the police had made four separate attempts to arrest was killed by one of his own before he could be arrested. 

The vacuum and confusion this created, was said to have allowed a predominantly Jamaican gang with a relatively small footprint in the Turks and Caicos to reinforce from Jamaica.

A few days ago a high-speed police pursuit resulted in three arrests and seized weaponry.

In an attempt to control the situation the governor said that, firearms specialists from the UK arrived on the island on Sunday and were at work on  Monday with the TCI’s Tactical Firearms Unit.