BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, January 26, 2014
A stunning claim has been made by a former gang member in the eastern belt of the Jamaica capital, that men in the criminal underworld, often assisted by rogue policemen, have been killing people and burying their bodies in the vicinity of a sand mine.
The practice, according to the man, has been going on for “whole heap a years”, and is carried out by individuals who are based between the East Kingston community of Rockfort, and the adjoining Harbour View in East Rural St Andrew.
The young man, who has been keeping a low profile since the area became tense recently, told the Jamaica Observer that he knew most of what happens in the community.
Late last week, he accompanied a Sunday Observer team to a section of Harbour View called ‘Crusher’ and pointed to three spots in the remote community, through which the Hope River runs, where he said he was sure several bodies were buried.
“Is nearly 100 bodies buried in the river bed. Dem usually use the big tractor dem, but sometimes when the tractors not there, dem use shovel,” the man said.
The Sunday Observer team saw several heavy duty equipment on the way to the alleged burial sites, but had no evidence to suggest that those were at any time used in the activity described by the ex-gangster.
According to the informant, most of the criminal activities are carried out by members of the ‘Mad Ants Crew’, which has since changed its name to ‘Bay Shore’.
The man, who cannot be named for security reasons, said that he was initially associated with the gang and saw several things happening around him that had hurt his gut. Now he wants to turn his life around.
He does not have a criminal record, as he was detained briefly in a police lock-up once for failing to pay his fare on a minibus and was later released. On another occasion, he was held for being in possession of a ganja ‘spliff’.
“I see all the Dons and I used to be around some of the youth dem, because dem look up to me,” he said.
“Things got bad when some youth got guns from overseas (through a now imprisoned Don), and they got unruly and started to rob people and rape the women. Eventually, they got another set of youth to get rid of the first set a youth dem, by sending a vanload of guns to wipe dem out.
“When they are going to step out and do a thing at night time, the police would pass through first. A certain set of police would go with the men and make sure things allright.
“When certain shipment of drugs coming out or going in, police escort it. They set up roadblocks … nutten can’t pass, especially on the airport road, and then dem let it go.
“In the process, the youth dem who dem get to wipe out the first set, start get unruly, so that’s how dem started to organise and kill dem and bury dem at the place called Crusher, up past the gypsum site, the same place that PreMix used to run,” the former gangster said.
“Even the teacher from Mona get innocently caught up,” he said.
That January 5 killing of two men, one of them who formerly taught at Mona Primary School, is among several that have gone without the apprehension of those responsible.
According to the man, the murders of Paul Walker, 26, a grade five teacher at Mona Primary, who lived at Goldsmith Villa in Eastern St Andrew and his friend Omar Campbell, also called ‘Biggs’, originally of a Clarendon addres, were carried out by a man linked to the same killing ring.
“Even with the teacher murder the other day over Harbour View, dem have a part inna it. The youth who do the act shot up the wrong people. Is two innocent man them kill. The whole thing stem from a dispute with two man over a woman.
“The man who do the shooting was sleeping in his bed when a youth come tell him that some man a plan fi kill him over a woman and control of a bar, so him go down the bar and shoot it up, thinking that the people who planning fi kill him was in the bar. But innocent people get shot. The teacher was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because the youth just shoot up everyting in the bar. Him injure three other people. Right now him no hide. Even inna middle day people see him. Police no hold nobody yet.
“I tell the police that I know where the man who did the killing live, know everywhere him hang out, me know the number a him car … if dem did a do dem work dem woulda come to me long time to get him registration. Me go as far as tell dem him name and mek dem have him picture because me want dem to lock dem up, but to how me see it, the police dem a work lousy; dem have too much things a do.
“Dem a tell me dem have that fi do deh so an’ all dem things. Dem need some special police to deal with these things, because some of dem mix up and corrupt too,” he charged.
The murder of Detective Sergeant Courtney Simpson, the former bodyguard to Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, and State Miinister for Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Julian Robinson, is another that the informant said was skilfully planned and carried out.
“Even the policeman who dem kill in the scheme, dem seh that policeman a get too push up inna dem thing,” he said.
Detective Sergeant Simpson of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Protective Services division was shot multiple times on the porch of his house, as he exited his vehicle on the night of April 8, last year. He died shortly after 10:00 pm at hospital.
“Is a lot of other people dem carry weh go kill and this man (East Kingston Don) and a politician involved too. They will beat dem and carry dem to Crusher where they kill dem and then bury dem.
“Is only a few people know about the burial areas. If dem shoulda dig it up, a whole heap a bodies dem would find.
“Dem have nearly 100 bodies buried there, because this has been going on for a long time. Even a youth from August Town dem kill,” the informant said,
Two young men had left August Town and headed for Harbour View to watch a Premier League football match last year, and close to their destination, one jokingly tried to catch someone’s pig.
“Him was playing with the hog, trying to back him up, and one of the youth from Harbour View go tell one a di gunman dem and dem kill him and bury him. Dem tie up the other youth, but him escape and run weh naked. It cause the man dem from August Town fi come down to Harbour View and kill two innocent man who come to look scrap metal,” he said.
One high-profile investigator, who is assigned to one of the Constabulary Force’s more prominent crime fighting units, told the Sunday Observer that he was not aware of the claims made, although he had heard “whisperings at certain times”.
The senior investigator, who asked not to be named, as he was not geographically responsible for the area under the microscope, also opted not to touch on the circumstances surrounding Detective Sergeant Simpson’s death, nor delve further into what has been behind the killings in the general East Kingston/Harbour View area.
“This one is bigger than me. I suggest you go to the very top,” he said, referring to Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington.
But the informant insisted that ghastly activities occuring in the area were still going on.
“Round that side a dem favourite burying ground … inna the river bed,” he said, pointing to an area covered with stagnant water.
“Dem have backhoe, which dem use to dig up the place. They will dig up a lot of sand and throw a whole heap a bodies down there, cover it back and nobody can’t know,” he said.
“I saw them bury a man one time. I was sifting sand to sell a woman one late evening going into night and me see a car shot past and then me hear some gunshot fire. After that, two of the man them, who go up inna the car, walk come down and me ask dem is wha happen, and dem say nutten.
“But me know them and them know me. When me go up there me see a trail a blood, and the next morning police come up to the spot and say dem kill man up dey last night and dem dig up one body, that of ‘Feggie’, from down Red House. That was the only body dem find. Dem dig further and find skeleton, but where dem dig is not there the rest of the bodies deh… A no deh so the burial ground deh.
“Feggie get a early grave because a the night before dem kill him. A nuff time me see dem come round deh wid youth inna car tie up and gone with dem, and is not hide dem a hide because people see and know dem, but nobody nah say nutten.”
The young man said that the involvement of the police in the killings was startling.
“Whenever anything happen, police come and have the area under quarantine and then when things done, police gone. The police come help cover up the crime. Even police catch man and come hand him over to dem,” he claimed.
“Dem have a set of police who work wid dem. If you do anything, a dem same one dem a sen’ a yu yard fi yu and seh dem a carry you go a station. Me know police specifically who do that, some come from Harbour View station, Bull Bay station, Port Royal, Vineyard Town, Airport police and up a Mountain View. Dem have connection a Elletson Road police too, but not like the other stations,” he alleged further.
“Police and dem a friend. Police know bout it. I went to Elletson Road Police Station and tell dem that police a work wid the man dem, and dem want me to call name, but the little one who tell me that don’t even have a stripe, so what him can do?” he said.
“It is going to take a lot. People who have lost their relatives to these murderers need to come out and say we need to put a stop to this. Dem can’t just sit in dem house and live inna fear. If you don’t stop the head, more of the little ones will come up.
“It come een like dem unstoppable. Is three top man inna it. Dem have the money an’ a dem a do the thing,” he said.
The man admitted to being associated with the gang at one stage, although he said that he was usually on the periphery and had never got involved in the irregular projects.
“I was with them, but I wasn’t a part of dem. If me was a part of dem me couldn’t leave the gang. Dem kill somebody close to me … and a nuff people pickney dem kill and go bury roun’ a di river bed … a nuff bone roun’ deh, with some old rotten clothes, because a nuff time me roun’ deh a mine sand and nuff clothes come up,” the ex-gangster said.
“When dem a kill the people, dem tek off dem clothes and either burn it or throw soil and sand over it. They always bury the victims naked … me no know why.
“Is the same gang members in the community a break into people’s house, rape the people dem daughters, set up robberies and other things. If someone else commit a robbery, bruk a house or go with a underage girl, dem bruk him up or kill him, because is dem alone must do it. Anybody else do it violate the rules… a so dem a run the place. Dem shoot up anybody who lick out pon dem,” he added.
“Nuff a dem in the community don’t have a skill. Apart from committing crime, the most that the youth dem inna the area can do is build a spliff,” he said.
Although the young man said he had vital information that could assist the police in solving some of the murders committed, he is not seeking protection, as he said he had no confidence in the police.
“I don’t want to go into the Witness Protection Programme; no, I will protect myself. If the Government could supply me with some money to do my trade, I would be better off,” he said.
“I don’t trust the Witness Protection Programme, because the police will send man come kill me same way. I don’t trust the police. I rather trust some of the youth dem around me,” he said.
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Mass Burial Site Claim
