ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

Four cops attached to the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) have been formally charged with a range of serious offences, including forgery, attempting to pervert the course of justice, and breaches under the anti-gang legislation.

The arrests are tied to an ongoing transnational narcotics investigation. The FNID is tasked with ridding the country of illegal firearms and narcotics. The unit has been involved in several major busts, including the recent seizure of 30 firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition at a warehouse on Marcus Garvey Drive. Attorney-at-law Christopher Townsend, who represents the accused, confirmed that the charges were laid on Tuesday. The investigation was carried out by the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

"They were charged and taken into custody, and we anticipate and were promised a court hearing by Friday of this week," Townsend told THE STAR.

According to the attorney, the charges stem from a 2023 incident involving a complainant who was reportedly under investigation for at least three separate attempts to send parcels overseas. Townsend emphasised that while the individuals are being charged under the anti-gang legislation, there is no allegation that they belong to a traditional gang or recognised criminal organisation. Townsend explained that the individuals were charged because they were allegedly involved in what appears to be a coordinated criminal enterprise. Since more than three people were reportedly acting together in the commission of these offences, that meets the legal threshold for charges under the anti-gang law, even if the individuals are not members of a known or traditional gang.

"The gang legislation is much wider than the usual definition or the everyday definition of what a gang is," he added.

Townsend also expressed concern over the lack of early disclosure provided to the defence, stating that clarity on the charges only became available yesterday when his clients were charged.

Early disclosures

"When we asked for clear and better particulars, everybody was tight-lipped. They must get beyond this way of thinking that we must hold the information to our breast and then release it at some future date," he argued.

"The information would be released anyway, so why is it that we cannot get an early indication or early disclosure of what it is the clients are being charged with?" he asked.

While acknowledging the need for discretion in sensitive probes, Townsend maintained that basic rights to disclosure should not be sacrificed.

"I understand that when you are conducting an investigation of this nature that you have to be 'hush hush'. But having gone through the lens of supplying the DPP (director of public prosecutions) with information with a file that would be either complete, or certainly in an advanced stage of completion for her to make a ruling ... certainly, you can disclose what it is that is there," he said.