KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican security forces arrested dozens of residents of a bullet-pocked slum Thursday and said the death toll from four days of fighting sparked by the search for a reputed drug lord has risen to 73.
The target of the manhunt, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, was nowhere to be found.
“We are still searching for Mr. Coke,” said Deputy Police Chief Glenmore Hinds. “Certainly we can’t disclose where we are looking.”
Hinds said police and soldiers have found 73 bodies, three of which were killed in incidents not related to the raid.
“The 73 bodies we’re speaking about are all civilians,” Hinds said. “But civilians are sometimes gunmen and gunwomen.”
He said three police officers were killed in the fighting and 28 were injured. Hinds denied claims by residents that police were burning some bodies.
Security forces went door-to-door in Tivoli Gardens, the slum where Coke enjoys widespread support and is referred to as “president.” They let residents move about freely beginning Thursday afternoon.
Sporadic gunfire could still be heard in the neighboring slum of Denham Town, where some streets remained barricaded by local gang members.
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