Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

The original plan completed in January 2010 envisioned the JCF role to arrest, search for evidence and execute the warrant on Dudus; whereas the JDF role at the time would be to provide a cordon to allow this to occur. However, the original focus changed. DCP Glenmore Hinds explains: "It did when the situation was no longer a law enforcement activity but a security operation, when the blockades were reinforced with explosives, when men began to fire at our assets, loot and destroy our assets. It became a situation that our law enforcement assets was just not able to respond.”      (Source; Tivoli COE, Day 30, May 26, 2015, p 48) The Operational Report Extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke 2010 had identified possible escape routes and counter measures: ‘The subject and other targets may attempt to evade capture by using the following routes to escape from the community: – Industrial Terrace – Spanish Town Road vicinity Tivoli Courts – Lizard Town Entrance – ...

The Commissioners have in their report highlighted the glaring fact that the enquiry was severely hampered by the absence of pertinent reports from the intelligence units of the security forces which were operative during the May 2010 debacle. Chapter 13 : "The circumstances under which the fugitive Christopher "Dudus" Coke managed to elude arrest during and after the operation by the security forces of Jamaica in Tivoli Gardens and related areas in May 2010, and the circumstances of his capture," ToR (P) made the telling admission in its Introduction "31.1   The sources of information and evidential foundations of this Chapter are largely based on testimony of members of the security forces. We received no direct evidence from the Heads of Intelligence units or any self-acknowledged Intelligence units or analysts except for DCP Hinds . However, we were provided with opinions or assessments, formed by officers in light of the Intelligence reports supplied t...

The Tivoli Commission of Enquiry has been informed by both the then Minister of National Security, Dwight Nelson, and the then Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, that the security forces had no idea how, if and when the fugitive Christopher "Dudus" Coke escaped the dragnet imposed on Tivoli Gardens in May 2010. Nelson too admits the there are a number of theories ; but he does not believe that the security forces "know for a fact" how Dudus managed to evade capture. Theories:  Coke never left  Tivoli Gardens during the military- police incursion; Coke escaped via tunnels constructed as waste water drains -- exiting at a gully in Hannah Town; Coke escaped on land disguised as a female.   ET #1: This seems very unlikely given the intensity of the searches conducted by the security forces. Indeed if Coke had remained undiscovered during the military-police operation, then there would be no need to risk being discovered by venturing outside of his '...