POLICE Commissioner Owen Ellington has asked for patience as members of the security forces continue their search for illegal weapons in the West Kingston community of Tivoli Gardens.

Seventy-three civilians were killed in and around the community as police and soldiers engaged armed thugs who were trying to prevent the arrest of alleged drug don Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Two policemen and a soldier were also killed in the operation.

Initial police reports that only four guns were seized during the operation sparked concern among Jamaicans, including Public Defender Earl Witter, about the disparity between the number of deaths and illegal firearms seized.

"First we did the primary search, which was to clear the environment and to detain people... and then we are now doing the secondary searches, which are a bit more detailed, for weapons and evidence," said Ellington, during yesterday's special Monday Exchange at his office on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

"The secondary searches are turning out the weapons; two days ago we had over 12 weapons being found and yesterday I think we found an additional seven. We will find more as we move along," he said.

Up to yesterday afternoon, the police said they had recovered a total of 40 firearms and more than 9,200 rounds of assorted ammunition. The latest discovery, Ellington said, was made among debris in garbage trucks leaving the Tivoli Gardens community.

In addition, he said many of the thugs who were shooting at members of the security forces were hit from "distances of over 300 yards".

"If a man is firing a rifle and he is taken out by snipers there is no way that the sniper can go and retrieve his firearm. It would be unwise, unsafe and downright irresponsible for him to attempt to do that," Ellington said.

In such cases, he said, residents would have had ample time to retrieve weapons from slain gunmen.

"With time, we can find the weapons, we can find the individuals and we can disarm the community. We can't assure security and stability unless we are able to remove the killing capacity from it," he said.

Meanwhile, Ellington said he was doubtful whether or not all the bodies recovered in West Kingston were of persons killed during the security forces' operation.

"Because of the advanced state of decomposition of some bodies, we suspect that they may have been killed prior to [the operation]," he said.

"We have intelligence that some people were killed when they attempted to leave the community, and we also have information that some people were killed because they refused to allow criminals to occupy their homes. But that is to be determined," he said.