(Jamaica Gleaner) – The security forces pounced on Matthews Lane and satellite streets of downtown Kingston in a predawn raid on Sunday, seizing illegal weapons and detaining hundreds of young men in a major push to weaken the grip of gangs.

The sting operation resulted in the seizure of four guns and 140 rounds of ammo as law enforcers conducted door-to-door searches throughout the inner city. The massive swoop was spearheaded by dozens of police and military personnel backed by helicopter support.

The operation was the latest in a series of surgical strikes on gang targets since the citywide upheavals sparked by the hunt for Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, a suspected drug lord-turned-fugitive. Coke’s loyalists triggered the state’s military behemoth to overrun insurgents and reclaim power in his Tivoli Gardens fortress more than a week ago. Coke is still at large.

The police did not state whether the raid also targeted gunmen suspected to have escaped from Tivoli in the early throes of the Labour Day incursion.

Karl Angell, the media point man for the constabulary, said the police have so far recovered an Uzi sub-machine gun and three pistols – a Smith & Wesson 9mm, a semi-automatic Luger and Sterm, and a semi-automatic Colt .45.

Eleven rounds were recovered with the Uzi and the other 129 bullets seized along with the three other guns.

The spokesman said the three pistols were seized at a business place on Princess Street. The owner of the business is now in custody. The security forces also discovered several illegal electrical connections on the said premises.

Following the seizure of the pistols, the businessman’s home in Kirkland Heights, St Andrew, was searched. Angell said the security forces found a large sum of cash and a BMW X5 sport utility vehicle at the premises.

The businessman is being interrogated by members of the Criminal Investigation Branch.