The Kingston Eastern police are celebrating the removal of two firearms - one, a high-powered rifle - and several rounds of ammunition from the nation's streets, as well as the arrest of five wanted men in the division yesterday.

The items seized are:

One Sturm Ruger mini 14 .223 rifle.

Three Sturm Ruger Ranch magazines.

Forty-four 5.56 rounds.

One Walter PPK 9mm handgun.

Ten 9mm rounds.

Reports are that between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., a team of officers was conducting an operation on Malvern Avenue when two premises were searched and the weapons discovered. No one was arrested in connection with the seizure.

Five men - two of whom were wanted for breaches of the Sexual Offences Act -and three for murder, were arrested during the operation. Their names are being withheld until they are officially charged.

Head of the Division, Superintendent Arthur Brown, said, since the start of the year, the division has recorded 12 murders, 10 of which are firearm- related. He added that yesterday's operation was part of a weekly initiative carried out in line with the Jamaica Constabulary Force's recently revised murder reduction strategy for 2015.

Divisional Detective Inspector Stedman Bailey said, "the division has a 50 per cent clear up rate for murders."

Brown reminded members of the public not to harbour criminals and urged them to report all suspicious incidents in their communities.