Wanted druglord missing in Jamaica

Jamaican authorities say they are unsure of the whereabouts of a drug kingpin, three days after launching a major assault on the capital's slums to extradite him.

Jamaica declared a state of emergency on Sunday, as the mission to arrest Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who is wanted by the United States on drug charges, got underway.

Dozens of civilians have been killed in gun battles raging across the capital, Kingston, between security forces and those loyal to Coke.

But officials say it is not clear where the suspected druglord is hiding out.

Asked whether Coke was still in Kingston or even in Jamaica, police spokesman Karl Angell told reporters: "As soon as police know, we can speak about it."

US prosecutors say Coke's 'Shower Posse' - named for its propensity to shower people with bullets - is a major source of cocaine and marijuana trafficking to the US East Coast.

Coke seen as 'Robin Hood'

Coke would face life in prison if convicted of running the drug network.

But supporters see him as a Robin Hood figure, doling out jobs and protection in some of the most impoverished and violent sections of the Caribbean island.

Some Jamaicans hope the deadly violence in Kingston will finally put paid to the long-cozy relationship between governments and gangs in the country.

Since independence from Britain in 1962, the island's two major parties have barely hidden their links to gangs who were convenient in bringing out votes at election time and overseeing slums where even many Jamaicans dare not tread.

But when PM Bruce Golding declared a state of emergency and demanded the capture of Coke, he was targeting not a rival but a supporter of his own Jamaica Labour Party.

And many on the island hope that move will mark an end to so-called 'garrison politics'.

Cozy government-gang links

Ricardo Thomas, 30, who works at a coffeehouse, said there was only so long that politicians could keep ties to a figure sought by the US.

"When there is a rat that starts to stink in your house, it's time to do some cleaning," Thomas said.

The Reverend Earlmont Williams, the pastor of a local church, said: "It's unbelievable, it's very sad, but I believe that what is happening here could be the dawn of a new day.

"This was the mother of all garrisons," he said. "It's going to take a lot of resources, a lot of time and probably a lot of lives as we try to get rid of this cancerous disease."

Williams said gang kingpins - known locally as "tugs," or thugs - owed their popularity to the failure of the government to improve life in crowded slums blighted by poverty, crime and unemployment.

Slums blighted by poverty Coke and other tug leaders have nurtured fanatical support by providing protection, schooling and food to slum dwellers.

In turn, experts say that residents are expected to help the dons with anything he may desire -- from help running from the law to finding young girls to perform sexual favours.

"They see him as a Robin Hood or even a Jesus - someone who stands up for them and is willing to die for them, even if he is an evil Messiah," Williams said.

The opposition People's New Party, itself no stranger to the ways of garrison politics, has criticized Golding for not moving fast enough against Coke.

But the government's information minister, Daryl Vaz, says those days are gone.

'Secret symbiosis'

"I can categorically state that the time has come when we have to take this on frontally, without any apology," Vaz said.

Some experts are sceptical, though, that Jamaica can change its ways.

Michael Chettleburgh, a Canadian expert on crime, said politicians would find it difficult to go without tugs at the street level when the next election approaches.

"They are intent on cleaning up this secret symbiosis between alleged gangsters and the ruling elite. Will it be effective? I'm not so sure," he said.

"I can't see how they would be able to eliminate so quickly a political machination that has defined the Jamaican experience for 30 or 40-plus years."