| In | Kingston, Jamaica |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Jamaican |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, racketeering, and murder |
The Shower Posse is a Jamaican posse which is involved with drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica, but it primarily operates in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Pennsylvania,[1] where it is one of the most powerful posses.[2] There are differing reports on the origin of the name. One theory is that it comes from the promises of its associated politicians to shower supporters with gifts.[3] Another view is that it is a reference to the gang showering opponents with bullets.[4]
The gang has a strong international presence among expatriate Jamaican communities in North America. In the United States a branch was founded by Vivian Blake and it had a prominent role in the New York City drug trade. The gang also has a large presence in Toronto, Canada.[4]
"In 1989, former Shower Posse member Charles “Little Nut” Miller was charged with drug trafficking but agreed to testify against other gang leaders in order to receive immunity. In his testimony – in which he implicated himself in nine murders - Miller revealed his connection to the JLP as a “political enforcer,” as well as to the CIA, going as far to state that “the United States made me what I am”(Newsweek, July 13th, 1998)."[5]
In 2009 the United States began to demand that Christopher Coke, the current leader of the Shower Posse, with extensive and well-known links to the Jamaica Labour Party, be extradited to New York, where he would face charges of smuggling drugs and weapons.[6][7]
The prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, who is also the Minister of Parliament for that district, initially questioned the legality of the request, claiming that warrantless wiretapping had been used to collect information on Coke. However, he eventually relented, after public indignation to what many Jamaicans viewed as a cover-up to protect a politically-connected drug trafficker, and on May 17, 2010 an arrest warrant was issued for Coke, leading to a state of civil unrest within Kingston, and especially Tivoli Gardens.[8] Coke was eventually arrested at a checkpoint on June 22, 2010.