THE police have placed a US$20,000 bounty on the head of fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, who is wanted in the United States to answer charges related to drugs and gun-running, the constabulary said yesterday.
The reward is the latest effort on the part of the police and the Jamaica Defence Force to capture Coke, 42, who fled his West Kingston community base of Tivoli Gardens on May 24 when law enforcers moved in to capture him.
The reputed leader of the US-based Shower Posse and accused drug lord, is being sought so that he can be served a warrant for his arrest to initially appear before a local court to determine whether or not he should be extradited to the United States to face the charges that he has been accused of.
“The police would like to find Coke to execute a warrant of arrest issued by the Courts of Jamaica for him to face extradition proceedings,” read the statement from the constabulary’s director of the communication Karl Angell.
The statement also called on persons who knew where Coke was hiding to contact Operation Kingfish at 811, Crime Stop at 311 and Police Control at 119 with the relevant information.
The arrest warrant was issued a month ago, but Coke has been successful in eluding a tight dragnet set up by the security forces, although those close to him, including his brother Leighton ‘Livity’ Coke, sister Sandra ‘Sandie’ Coke, along with business partner and confidante Justin O’Gilvie have all turned themselves in, something that several prominent Jamaicans have appealed to the fugitive to do.
The US has been trying to extradite Coke since August of last year, but the Jamaica Government initially stalled the process, citing inappropriate gathering of information on the part of their US counterparts as the main reason. However, in an about-turn, Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in whose constituency Tivoli Gardens sits, announced on May 17 that justice minister and attorney general Senator Dorothy Lightbourne would sign the order, allowing for action to be taken against Coke to appear before a resident magistrate.
Clashes between security forces and criminal gunmen loyal to Coke resulted in the deaths of 73 civilians and a soldier in three days of fighting in Tivoli Gardens last month.
Two other policemen died in a related incident on May 23, the same day that several police stations were burnt and shot up, forcing Golding to introduce a month-long limited State of Emergency.
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