Public questions possible ONDCP tactic

Several residents are calling on the country’s law enforcement agencies to provide answers about an incident involving armed individuals – believed to be law enforcement officers – who were wearing masks and dressed in dark clothing with the letters ONDCP printed on the back. Yesterday, at 3:10 p.m., the masked individuals, who were travelling in a black pickup, pulled up in front of a black Noah van just outside Amaryllis Hotel, jumped out and arrested the driver and searched the vehicle.
Eyewitnesses said that the armed men were wearing helmets and balaclava (ski masks) which fully covered their faces and necks, and the markings at the back of their coveralls suggested that they work with the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP). OBSERVER media made several calls to the head of the ONDCP, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Croft, to determine whether this was an operation by the organisation, but he could not be reached. Meanwhile, the police said that they were not aware of the incident and could not confirm whether it was a legitimate operation.
According to one witness, who did not wish to be named due to concerns for his safety, the pickup with the armed men was parked outside the hotel on Pigotts main road for some time. Then it moved off and cornered the van as soon as it approached the stoplight at the junction of Sir George Walter Highway and Old Parham Road. “It looked scary, because of all the masked men robbing people. I don’t know if it is a new tactic but it is something that doesn’t really go down too well,” the witness said.
The man said that he believes the masked men were in fact ONDCP officers because he had seen a similar operation before and later learned it was the ONDCP. He said that if this operation was conducted by that organisation, he’s worried that a law enforcement agency is using masked, undercover personnel, especially in the wake of several robberies in which the assailants were masked, armed and dressed in clothing marked POLICE or army camouflage fatigue.
“I was just passing by and saw the stop. It seemed to me like either money or drugs in the vehicle. I was wondering why they going about doing this masked business, because this is what most of the criminals are doing now – wearing masks,” the witness added. Another eyewitness, who also did not want to be named for safety reasons, spoke with OBSERVER media yesterday afternoon, expressing concern about what he saw. He recalled that a dreadlocked man was driving the van and the armed men ordered him out. He was later handcuffed and put on the ground. His vehicle was searched and the armed men found several packages inside a bag. “You could see the compressing and it had to be drugs or money.
They aren’t going to pull off nobody just like that. They had the side door and back door of the van open and you could see what was in there. But why they had to wear masks? I mean, police lock up people all the time and they don’t wear masks. So, is this some new tactic?” the witness posited. Other witnesses expressed the same concern about the operation being conducted by masked individuals. “It’s frightening, because right now, plenty robbery happening and the criminals wearing masks,” a woman who works in the area said. Bystanders who tried to photograph the incident were reportedly told to put away their camera phones.
However, at least one person still managed to film the operation and began circulating it on social media soon after. The latest incident in which robbers were dressed in camouflage clothing occurred in early December in Browne’s Avenue. No arrests were ever made in that incident. Hours before that robbery, masked gunmen had robbed over 10 people in Clarehall. They also shot a young male on the scene before escaping with two army camouflage jackets which belonged to a reserve member of the military.