Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
PM will have no ‘Dudus’ under his watch
Front Page
May 28, 2010

PM will have no ‘Dudus’ under his watch

The public was assured earlier this week that drug barons in St.Vincent and the Grenadines will not be able to control territory here.{{more}}

This promise was made by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, as he shared his views on the deadly gunbattle in Jamaica between law enforcement officers and thugs of Tivoli Gardens and its environs who support Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

Gonsalves said: “Give them a chance they will do exactly like Dudus.

“We have a lot of copy cats. I assure you. You ain’t going and have that on my watch. I assure you of that,” said Gonsalves quite sternly, at a press conference on Tuesday.

Gonsalves said he hopes the Jamaica situation helps Vincentians to understand the gravity of allowing drug dealers to take control.

“There are people who will tell me when you act like this you lose votes. Well, okay, you lose votes. You don’t do it, we all lose our lives and our dignity,” said the prime minister, who had launched an assault on the drug operation in St.Vincent and the Grenadines one year ago when he staged the exercise ‘Vincy Pac’.

“Keeping law and order doesn’t give you any votes you know, because when you are maintaining law and order there is always somebody who wants to criticise you for maintaining law order,” said Gonsalves, adding not having law and order will make it difficult for people to enjoy any of their rights.

“I hope what is happening there has come home to Vincentians that you cannot give these organised drug traffickers and money launderers any space,” Gonsalves warned.

Gonsalves said at a court hearing here, well known activists of the New Democratic Party went about with their SUVs with drinks to share out among those who had come to support an alleged drugman or money launderer. He described the drug dealer as “a kind of mini Dudus, a micro Dudus, a baby Dudus, a Dudus in an earlier evolutionary state”.

“But mark my words, you give them a chance they will do exactly like Dudus,” Gonsalves reiterated.

Gonsalves predicted that other areas of the Caribbean were likely to be affected by the Jamaica uprising.

“That would affect our tourism, too,

you know, because when they (international media) talk about the Caribbean people are going to say ‘no, I don’t

want to go to the Caribbean’,” said Gonsalves, noting that the rest of the region will have to promote their

destinations as different than what is

happening in Jamaica.

On May 17, 2010, a deeply apologetic Prime Minister Bruce Golding of Jamaica announced that Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne will sign the authority for extradition proceedings to commence against Coke who is wanted by the United States to face gun and drug-running charges. The U.S. authorities had been seeking Coke’s extradition since August 2009.

Violence, however, rocked sections of Kingston on Sunday, May 23, 2010, when armed men brazenly took on the security forces in a sustained attack on police stations in anticipation of the apprehension of Coke.

Four police stations came under attack.

The government immediately declared sections of the capital a state of emergency and law enforcement officers, soldiers and police officers, launched an offensive on Tivilo Gardens.

By press time Wednesday, the number of civilians confirmed killed in the security force operation in West Kingston had reached 44.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Villa woman in  hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Front Page
    Villa woman in hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Police are said to be carrying out investigations into the stabbing of Rafia Sardine, a 20-year-old female of Villa. Reports are that Sardine, a FLOW ...
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Front Page
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    In St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an analysis has found that the most hacked government entity was the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Polic...
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Front Page
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Leaders of Governments and institutions from countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the continent of Africa, gathered at the weekend for ...
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Front Page
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is proud of the persons in his constituency who continue to aim for higher education. Dr Gonsalves is the parliame...
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Front Page
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A van conductor, who beat his five- months pregnant ex-girlfriend after she refused to get back with him, has been remanded pending sentencing. Onez J...
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    From the Courts, News
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A Lowman’s Hill man who struck another villager in his head with a piece of steel will know his fate tomorrow, September 10, 2025. Kevin Roberts, 25, ...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok