Archive for June, 2010|Monthly archive page
Dudus Lawyer – Tom Tavares-Finson
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2010, christopher, coke, custody, dudus, finson, jamaica, june, latest, lawyer, tavares, tom, us
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Tom Tavares-Finson being questioned by police outside the army barracks where Dudus was held photo by JA Observer
With Dudus safely out of Jamaica and in US custody, there have been a few things being said.
The lawyer who was rep-ping Dudus until the sh*t hit the fan, and now he is back on board and who is also a govt senator has been talking about a few things.
He has been re-iterating the fact that negotiations for Dudus’s surrender were going on before the Tivoli Gardens bloodshed. That he had wished to be taken straight to US custody from the beginning.
“History in time will reveal all, but I can tell you without fear of hesitation that up until an hour before they moved, there were negotiations going on for his surrender to the American authorities. Those people were killed for no reason”
This is bad because it shows how the raid on Tivoli was unnecessary and could have been avoided if the talks had been successful then. But why weren’t they successful?
What assurances did Dudus want which the govt could not give him?
Dudus in custody
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: captured, custody, daught, dudus, extradition, police, proceeding, surrendered, us
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Clean shaven Dudus
The Reverend - who is an influential church leader – was escorting Dudus to the US embassy in Liguenea at the time. He had helped hand over his brother Leighton (who surrendered at Half Way Tree police station) and sister Sandy too.
The negotiations to hand himself in had been well reported before the killings in Tivoli Gardens which left 74 people dead (Seaga says the number is 150).
The fear was that he would die in police custody, like his father Lestor Coke aka Jim Brown who died in a suspicious prison fire as he was awaiting extradition to the US.
A soldier secures a helmet on ‘Dudus’ at the Spanish Town Police Station yesterday afternoon shortly after being captured. photo in Jamaica Observer
Now the police want Rev Al Miller as they seem to be upset that they were going to be bypassed altogether. It seems Dudus was in Kingston and surrounds all this time – as were his family. The police didn’t find him, although they are trying to say that there was “intelligence” which led to his capture. The facts are that he was arrested on the way to handing himself in. Kingston is not that big.
Now police Cssr Ellington wants Rev Al Miller – but the police let him go at the time and he had plenty of opportunity to question him following the surrender of the brother and sister, why didn’t he talk to him then?
The cunning Dudus disguise
A little bit of comedy in all this, is that the police say they found him wearing this disguise – a wig and fake glasses. It seems funny that a man who is supposed to be an allleged mastermind of a gang worth millions should choose this little disguise. Some might have fled to S America and had plastic surgery, Dudus stays in Kingston dressed like a swiss boy.
Dudus faces life in prison in the US if convicted of the drug and gun charges against him. it will be interesting to see what he says when he gets there – is he going to spill the beans on PM Bruce Golding?
Tivoli Gardens ‘torture chamber’?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2010, chamber, gardens, jamaica, june, kingston, may, raid, tivoli, tivoli gardens, torture
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Police say persons were hung by the arms from these nooses and beaten by thugs with a metal baseball bat.
The police and army are in control in Tivoli and it seems that for the first time in many years, they are getting the chance to have a good look around. It is reported they have found a ‘torture chamber’.
A soldier walks past a shallo grave in Tivoli
They also found a number of shallow graves where people were buried. The strict discipline held by Christopher Dudus Coke and his gang in Tivoli Gardens has been known about for some time and is the reason behind his fearsome reputation.
This was found in an area within Tivoli called Java and there’s another place near there called Rasta City.
Police say this room was used as a torture chamber. (Photos: Lionel Rookwood, Jamaica Observer)
This photo is said, by police to have been used for torture, but the detail around how they know this is sketchy, although the baseball bat looks ominous, without proper forensic evidence I don’t think it can be said for sure.
Other interesting news is that the police and army have set up a checkpoint and post in Dudus’s old offices. I’m sure they a re relishing the irony of that but is it really appropriate and what does it say about how one force (Dudus) has just been replaced by another (state security). Is one really any better than the other?
Jamaican Passport racket
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bigga, cornwall, ford, gardens. passport, illegal, jamaica, kingston, passport, racket, raid, tivoli
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Jamaican police seizures June 2010
These are some items recovered after a raid by police in downtown Kingston this week.
They were found in St John’s Lane, not far from Gordon House which is where politicians in parliament meet.
Cornwall "Bigga" Ford heads Jamaica's Flying Squad
The Flying squad – headed by Cornwall “Bigga” Ford – read more about him here, in a joint operation with the Caribbean Search Centre – run by the Jamaica Defence Force, found a number of illegal passports – both Jamaican and international ones.
It’s in the midst of a hive of police and army activity going on since the raid on Tivoli Gardens. Read this post about the raid for more info on that.
So several illegal passports and justice of the peace stamps were recovered .
Everyone knows you buy these Justice of the Peace stamps (hell, I’ve even had to buy one myself) - people who need to get abroad can always do so, as opposed to ordinary people who get stuck in an immigration nightmare.
This is the reality of organised crime – you can buy your way and do most things. But does all this activity mean that people will be prosecuted and will the tough stance be long lasting? Does this signal a real change away from the politics of corruption and links between politicians and crime or is this a quick fix until things go back to ‘normal’?
Christopher Coke – some background info
Filed under: Drugs, Gun Crime, Jamaica's Don Men, politics | Tags: brown, Bruce, christopher, coke, dudus, finson, Golding, jim, massop, posse, shower, tavares, tivoli gardens
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This photo was found by police in Tivoli after raids
Dudus’s father was Lester Lloyd Coke aka Jim Brown – now dead, he was also wanted by the US authorities in 1988 who accused him of running a multi million dollar drug ring known as the shower posse; so named for spraying showers of bullets in over a 1,000 alleged murders. Read all about Jim Brown here. and a video here on him.
Before Jim Brown, there was Claude Massop. All well known area leaders, or dons from the JLP controlled Tivoli Gardens. The photo below shows the painted murals on the boundary walls of Tivoli Gardens who still revere them today.
Ode to JLP gunmen, Tivoli Gardens Photo by Gorney66
Dudus is the classic Robin Hood type figure in his home turf in west kingston, jamaica – listen to people who know him and have met him here.
The US asked for his extradition in Aug 2009 and were damning in their criticism over corruption and failure to hand him over in the 2010 Narcotics report. See more on this here.
So when the pressure on PM Bruce Golding became too much to bear, he signed the extradition request in a televised address to the nation, following nine months of foot dragging.
The roadblocks went up around Tivoli and they prepared for a police shoot out which came a few days later.
Here’s an interesting interview with Edward Seaga afterwards (former JLP PM and creator of Tivoli Gardens) – he says there are many more deaths than are being reported, he says his sources tell him there are 150 people dead. He calls for people in police detention to be released and he says that locals should have been allowed to leave the area much sooner. He also says the 64 thousand dollar question is why did Golding intervened in the Dudus extradition when he should have let it go to the courts to decide.
The historical links between the dons and the politicians is well documented in this book , and university scholars have also documented the links here in the kerr report , this relationship changed in the 1970′s when the dons entered into the drugs trade and had the resources and fire power to do their own thing, but links are still said to exist in the form of government contracts awarded to Dudus’s legitimate companies and allegations over control of Kingston wharf and the custom and excise contained therein.
Dudus’s lawyer was the govt senator Tom Tavares-Finson until the heat got turned up.
Extortion
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: christopher, coke, coronation, downtown, dudus, extortion, jamaica, kingston, market, west
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Photo from JA Observer of burnt out Coronation Market, West Kingston, set alight in the fight over Dudus
I have heard many rumours about the extortion rackets going on in downtown Kingston, linked to the power held by Dudus.
However, it was difficult to prove and most people were always unwilling to talk about it. So this is an interesting development coming from the Tivoli Gardens offensive and hunt for Dudus.
Basically, it quotes town clerk, Errol Greene from the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, which collects legitimate fees from traders, who has been talking about how they, as an official body have suffered because traders were giving the money to extortionists rather than to them, and that they are now hoping that they will be able to collect more fees now that the Dudus crackdown has happened.
The list gets longer…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: christopher, coke, dudus, jamaica, list, wanted
Leave a Comment Now the Jamaican authorities want all these people in connection with their attempts to get hold of Christopher Coke, it’s all about turning the pressure tap on Dudus to give himself in. If he does turn himself in, will these people no longer be wanted? probably, but if there are known connections to criminal gangs, attempts should be made to pursue legitimate prosecutions as opposed to an elaborate fishing trip.
The list includes: Sandra ‘Sandy’ Coke, sister of Christopher ‘Dudus’;
Orlando Ochoy O’Gilvie;Newton McLeod; Harold McLeod, otherwise called ‘Harry Dog’; Danny Banton; David Heron, otherwise called ‘Reagie’; Kevin Bryan; Michael Murray, otherwise called ‘Bissi’; Donald Brown, otherwise called ‘Negus’; Christopher Linton, otherwise called ‘Dog Paw’; Ricardo Wynter, otherwise called ‘Government’; Euriel James, otherwise called ‘Rooksie’; Jerome Cunningham, otherwise called ‘Rome’; Nyron Hawkins, otherwise called ‘Ice’; Vascilion Lion, otherwise called ‘Irons’; Anthony Harding, otherwise called ‘Prince Pow’; Dennis Duhaney, otherwise called ‘Danfrey’; Timothy Thompson, otherwise called ‘Timmo’; Marlon Barnett, otherwise called ‘Pastor’; Kevin Brian; Richard Francis, otherwise called ‘Red Head’; Jevaughn Robinson, otherwise called ‘Jav’; Damion Gray, otherwise called ‘Sai’; Everton Minot, otherwise called ‘Rado’; and Rohan Silvera.
