Jamaica's top police officer appealed for calm today after an alleged drugs baron was arrested.
Hunted by security forces across the Caribbean island, Christopher "Dudus" Coke sought out a preacher's advice and tried to turn himself in to US marshals but was caught by police at a highway checkpoint before he could get there.
Police Commissioner Owen Ellington urged Coke's gangland supporters to allow the law to take its course.
Last month, 76 people were killed in fighting between security forces and gunmen loyal to the man branded by US authorities as one of the world's most dangerous drug lords.
"I would like to appeal to the families, friends and sympathisers of Christopher Coke to remain calm," Mr Ellington said after the capture of Jamaica's number one fugitive, who eluded the bloody police offensive in his West Kingston slum stronghold.
Security forces "are taking every step possible to ensure his safety and well-being while he is in our custody", Mr Ellington said, adding that legal proceedings against Coke should get under way quickly.
The 42-year-old Coke, who faces trial in New York on drug-trafficking and gun-running charges, is said to fear suffering the same fate as his father, a gang leader who died in a prison fire in 1992 while awaiting extradition to the US on drug charges.
Mr Ellington said Coke was caught by police manning a vehicle checkpoint along a highway, but added that other "circumstances of (Coke's) arrest are being investigated". He said police were acting on intelligence.
