Jamaica media reports say drug lord at center of bloody manhunt turns himself in

Reports: Fugitive drug lord surrenders in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Reputed gang leader Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who eluded a bloody police offensive in his slum stronghold last month, surrendered to authorities outside Jamaica’s capital Tuesday, local news media reported.

There was no immediate confirmation from the government, but an official said security forces would hold a news conference Tuesday evening.

Coke has been called one of the world’s most dangerous drug lords by U.S. authorities and faces trial in New York on drug and arms trafficking charges. One Jamaican newspaper said he was prepared to waive his right to an extradition hearing.

His surrender came nearly a month after 76 people were killed during a four-day assault by Jamaican police and soldiers on the West Kingston slum of Tivoli Gardens, which is Coke’s base. Gunmen loyal to Coke battled security forces in Tivoli Gardens and other poor districts during the manhunt.

Also known as “President” to the people of his slum, Coke served as community leader and enforcer in the gritty neighborhood in an area that the government acknowledges it has long neglected.

The Jamaica Observer said Coke turned himself into police in St. Catherine parish Tuesday afternoon accompanied by the Rev. Al Miller, an evangelical preacher who facilitated the surrender of the fugitive’s brother earlier this month.

The Spanish Town police station where Coke was reported being held was surrounded by heavily armed security forces.

Miller and police commanders did not immediately respond to calls from The Associated Press. Government Information Minister Daryl Vaz would say only that security forces would hold a news conference Tuesday evening and he would comment afterward.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, whose Jamaica Labor Party has long counted on the support of gunmen inside Coke’s Tivoli Gardens slum, opposed the extradition request for nine months before reversing himself under growing public pressure that threatened his political career.

Earlier this month, the main opposition party forced a no-confidence vote against Golding, which he survived after promising a sustained assault on the gangs that control poor politicized slums like Tivoli Gardens.

Coke is wanted in New York on charges that he trafficked cocaine and marijuana as well as weapons between his Caribbean island and the United States.

The reputed drug baron, who typically avoids the limelight, has remained silent. He faces life in prison if convicted on the charges in New York.

Jamaica’s political history is intertwined with slum gangs that the two main parties helped organize — and some say armed — in Kingston’s poor neighborhoods in the 1970s and ’80s.

The gangs controlled the streets and intimidated voters at election time. In recent years political violence has waned, and many of the killings in Kingston now are blamed on the active drug and extortion trade.

Coke was born into Jamaica’s gang life. His father was the leader of the notorious Shower Posse gang, a cocaine-trafficking band with agents in Jamaica and the U.S. that began operating in the 1980s and was named for its members’ tendency to spray victims with bullets.

The son took over from the father, U.S. authorities allege.

In recent days, Jamaica’s government had offered a $60,000 reward for information leading to Coke’s arrest.