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Alleged Jamaican Drug Lord Coke in Police Custody

   VOA News 23 June 2010
   This  undated  photograph  provided  by the Jamaica Constabulary Force
   shows alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke

Photo: AP

   This  undated  photograph  provided  by the Jamaica Constabulary Force
   shows  alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who Jamaican police
   say they have arrested June 22, 2010 on the oustkirts of Kingston, the
   island nation's capital.

   Authorities  in Jamaica say Christopher "Dudus" Coke, the alleged drug
   lord wanted by the United States, has been captured.

   Officials say Coke was taken into custody Tuesday in the parish of St.
   Catherine,  which  is  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Jamaican  capital,
   Kingston.  Media  reports  from  the  island  say  Coke's  arrest  was
   facilitated by a local preacher.

   Coke  is  wanted  by  the  United  States for alleged cocaine and arms
   trafficking.  U.S.  officials  sent an extradition request for Coke to
   the  Jamaican government last August, but Prime Minister Bruce Golding
   initially  refused  to  allow  it  to  be  processed, arguing that the
   evidence in it had been obtained illegally.

   In  response  to  criticism,  Mr. Golding recently said Coke should be
   arrested and brought to court for a hearing.

   Last  month, soldiers and police in Kingston launched an operation for
   Coke. They raided the Tivoli Gardens slum where Coke has influence, in
   a failed effort to arrest him for extradition. At least 73 people were
   killed in resulting clashes with security forces.

   Coke  is  the  alleged  leader  of  the  "Shower Posse," named for the
   practice  of  showering rivals with bullets during the cocaine wars of
   the 1980s.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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