Mark Wignall | Who bankrolls the guns?

Towards the end of the 1990s, a well-known druggist and gunrunner with roots in the north coastal area of Jamaica wanted to make a key ally of his look good. His friend was a superintendent of police newly transferred to his area of operations.

The druggist stashed two high-powered rifles that had never been used locally to commit any criminal acts. The next day, the 'supe' led a team of policemen to a spot in some bushes where, 'acting on information', they 'recovered' the two weapons of death. The police officer was gleefully congratulated by all, and a grateful but gullible public was, once again, led around the mulberry bush.

During the May 2010 Tivoli killings, I was in touch with a man in his 40s who told me he was in the Denham Town area "beating nuff shot". According to him, he had a knapsack on his back stuffed with ammo, a 9mm in his waistband, and an 'Israeli' (an Uzi-type) machine pistol. His role was not necessarily one of shooting at the security forces as much as it was designed to provide confusing fire, known in the troubled inner-city pockets as 'ansa back'.

If his ammo ran low, he was close to a place where it could be easily replenished. During the enquiry into the Tivoli killings, we were told that 141 firearms were recovered. I do not recall whether a breakdown was given along the lines of types. Local prices for high-powered rifles are in the region of $350,000 to $450,000. Machine pistols like the Mach 10 and the Uzi do not run much cheaper and, in certain instances, may be even more expensive the dangerous M-16 and the killing machine, the AK-47.

It is a fallacy to believe that criminals in the deadly extortion racket and the lottery scam cannot afford to purchase these guns. They are usually awash in cash. What is puzzling to many, however, is the proliferation of high-powered guns in the hands of mercenaries; young men who are basically murder incorporated on two legs and those who operate independently of gangs by pulling robberies and hold-ups. Where do they find the initial money to purchase these firearms? Is there a hidden hand in the big-business sector? And for what purpose?

Even as some among us have begun to congratulate the police and the new commissioner of police on the recent find of M-16s, there are those who have brought out the cynicism questions. Is it a genuine find, or was it staged to make the police look good?

At the heart of the matter is the fact that the vast majority of guns in the hands of young desperados did not get there by them sprinkling pixie dust around, chanting abracadabra, and, voila! Guns galore!

It doesn't take a genius to determine that the vast majority of the guns recovered in the aftermath of the Tivoli killings were likely owned by 'the Tivoli state apparatus'. Mercenaries who would have answered the call in the days before the rampage began would not have been foolish to travel many miles with firearms on public transport. They would have known that Tivoli would provide them with guns, ammunition, girls, and gin and juice. Add death to the mix.

The fact is, in gun finds, there are many of our people who are still not prepared to trust the official police report because there has been too much chicanery between criminals and their rogue friends in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Plus, no policeman wants to follow a lead to the top of an ivory tower.

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