The raid, which was carried out by the joint police/military task force, was done between 4 and 8:30 a.m. in the Crescent and St. Joseph roads and Coal Lane areas of the community.

The team was on the look out for members of the Rat Bat gang, firearms, ammunition, dangerous drugs and other contraband.

Of the 53 individuals detained, one is thought to be the new leader of the Rat Bat gang. He reportedly took over after the shooting death of the former leader, known as Machine Man, who was fatally shot by the police in a shoot-out last week.

He was said to be responsible for the upsurge in criminal activities in the Spanish Town Road and Waltham Park Road areas. It is also thought that he was behind a number of murders, shootings, rapes and extortion rings.

An illegal DVD recording studio, with computers, DVDs and other equipment used in the pirating of DVDs, was also raided.

The persons taken into custody are currently being processed.