JAMAICA-Police determined to dismantle woman-led crime syndicate.

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Jamaican police intensify efforts to dismantle woman-led crime syndicate
Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, speaking at the news conference.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica police say they are determined to dismantle a woman-led crime syndicate to ensure a continued decline in criminal activities along the island’s northern coast.

“For this quarter, we will be fully pursuing this female-led robbery syndicate. We’ll be pushing hard against this syndicate to ensure that we bring the robberies to a complete halt. We’re going into the Yuletide season and we want persons to be able to shop in peace,” Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, told a news conference as he discussed “Operation Endgame,” the new crime initiative.

The new anti-crime operation comes as police statistics show that St James has recorded 43 murders for the period January 1 to September 27, 2025, compared to 102 for the same period last year, a reduction of 57.8 per cent. Shootings have also dropped from 89 to 42 over the same comparative periods, representing a 52.8 percent reduction.

Samuels said the efforts of the police in the St. James area “will be relentless in ensuring that this robbery syndicate is fully demolished”, noting that the syndicate operates across several parishes.

Samuels said the work of the division’s members, including those in the zones of special operation (ZOSO), has been successful in apprehending some of the leading players in the area.

ZOSOs are specialized security and community development measures implemented in specific communities in Jamaica to address rampant criminality or high rates of violence, transforming the areas by focusing on both law enforcement and social intervention for a more sustainable environment.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness designates these zones and involves the military and police in collaboration with social transformation committees to achieve objectives such as enhancing community development and strengthening the police force.

“They have made some major headway, but there are still splinters of the gang around, and with that joint effort across Area One, we will see that robbery syndicate being dismantled,” Samuels added.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Michael Moore, who is in charge of crime in St James, told reporters that more than a dozen perpetrators, whom the police believe form part of this syndicate and are operating in the St James area, have been detained.

“Recently, we had five arrested and firearms were seized from them,” Moore said, adding, “these men mainly targeted our Chinese business community, and I can say with confidence right now the Chinese business community is breathing a sigh of relief, because we have arrested and charged these persons, and they are presently in custody”.

Moore stated that the police have also observed that some of the bandits have relocated to neighboring parishes as a result of the relentless operational and investigative efforts conducted by the police in the St James division.

Superintendent Lynroy Edwards said the new anti-crime offensive will run into the new year and that Operation Endgame aims to eradicate badness and criminality in St James.

“We have added more teeth to our activities, more assets, more intensity, a combination of old and new strategies, combined with our JDF (Jamaica Defense Force) partners and other formations.

“The gangs, of course, have been feeling our effectiveness, and they are going to feel it even more, mark our word,” he told reporters, urging Jamaicans to work with the police to ensure that people linked to criminal activities are shown that they are not welcome.

“We just want the citizens to continue to cooperate with us, and to use a Jamaican colloquial term, continue to ‘shub dem out’, so we can keep the peace right across the parish.”

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