KINGSTON, Jamaica, May 30 (UPI) -- Shoppers have returned to the markets of Kingston, Jamaica, following days of violence related to attempts to arrest an alleged drug kingpin, observers say.
Police and military last week clashed with supporters of alleged drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke in fighting that left 73 dead, the Sunday Gleaner reported. Jamaica had agreed to extradite Coke to the United States to face charges, but his charity programs have earned him strong support among Kingston's poor.
With a strong police presence in the city's commercial district Saturday, shops were busy with customers in a strong sign of returning normalcy, the newspaper said.
One welcome difference, customers said, was the absence of street "extortionists" who demanded money from shoppers to park in free parking areas and extorted money from shopkeepers "for the president," the Gleaner said
An unwelcome sight in downtown Kingston for a long time, they were nowhere to be seen as security forces patrolled the shopping areas, the Gleaner reported.
"My regular sellers are not here," one woman said, " but I have parked without anyone telling me to remember to carry a bill ($100 Jamaican, USD $1.10) for them, so all my money can now be spent on the food that I need rather than the extortionists."
