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Security expert Jason McKay is calling for even harsher penalties - including the death sentence - for individuals convicted of mass gun and ammunition importation, as well as the manufacturing and stockpiling of prohibited weapons.

McKay's remarks come in the wake of a major police find on Monday in Yallahs, St Thomas, where more than 500 sticks of dynamite were discovered.

"Once they start to manufacture or import these type of explosives ... we should start considering life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or capital punishment," McKay told THE STAR.

Superintendent Michael Campbell, head of the St Thomas Police Division, said the explosives were uncovered during a routine operation.

"The police, during an operation, just happened to come upon these [objects]. It has nothing to do with gangs or intelligence suggesting that gangs were going to use them. They were just found during the execution of a police operation," Campbell told THE STAR.

It remains unclear whether the sticks were locally manufactured or illegally imported. As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges had been laid in relation to the discovery.

This is not the first such incident in the area. In April, approximately 900 pipe bombs were seized in Bull Bay.

Currently, under the Firearms Act, anyone convicted in the Circuit Court of manufacturing or stockpiling prohibited weapons can face life imprisonment, with eligibility for parole only after serving a minimum of 20 years. But McKay believes that's not enough.

"You have to start using the capital punishment on our books now for things other than just murder. If the perpetrators know that they could be hanged in the next five years, then it is something they would want to stay away from," McKay argued.

Although the death penalty remains legally available in Jamaica for capital murder, the country has not carried out an execution since 1988.

Jamaica's revised Firearms Act, enacted in 2022, mandates a minimum of 15 years imprisonment for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.

Lawmakers have also strengthened other sentencing guidelines, recently amending the Offences Against the Person Act and the Criminal Justice Administration Act to introduce stiffer penalties for murder.

Persons convicted of capital murder must now serve a minimum of 50 years before becoming eligible for parole - up from 20 years.

The mandatory minimum sentence for non-capital murder is now 30 years, and those sentenced to life imprisonment for non-capital murder must serve at least 40 years, up from 15, before becoming eligible for parole.