IN a day of high tension in West Kingston, thugs held residents of Tivoli Gardens, the power base of strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, as potential human shields and mounted deadly barricades to keep security forces at bay.

Their rear guard action came as Government officers signed the arrest warrant for Coke, and 48 hours after Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced he would let the courts decide on the United States extradition request for the man alleged to be among the most lethal drug and arms traffickers.

Near nightfall, the Jamaican authorities responded by summoning the Army Reserves, a clear sign that it was taking seriously the manoeuvres in Tivoli Gardens, ironically in the prime minister's Jamaica Labour Party constituency.

Questions about whether Coke was in the famous enclave went unanswered, but some of his supporters were clearly not taking any chances. Police said the thugs confiscated cellphones from law-abiding residents and prevented them from leaving the community.

Cooking gas cylinders were placed in the barricades around the community, while barbed wires were thrown on high voltage Jamaica Public Service electrical wires and attached to metal objects in the rubble, as they vowed not to allow the security forces to enter the community.

The education ministry took pre-emptive action by shifting the vital CSEC and CAPE examination centres from schools in West Kingston, but it was uncertain how students from homes in Tivoli would leave the community to sit exams.

Some defiant residents of Tivoli, meanwhile, called on the authorities to leave Coke alone.

"Leave Dudus alone, a him send our children to school, him no break no law, a lie dem a tell pon him," screamed one woman.

"Dudus is next to God, leave him alone," shouted another.

A highly-placed Observer source said last night that Coke's four children were sent out of Tivoli, raising concerns among other residents who were penned in as to their own fate.

The thugs, some said to be heavily armed, began mounting roadblocks around Tivoli and sections of neighbouring Denham Town since Monday night.

Yesterday, the police reported that one of its armoured personnel carriers was shot up while travelling in the Denham Town area.

A police source said the lawmen attempted to clear a roadblock in the vicinity of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) when they came under gunfire.

Police also confirmed that there was heavy gunfire in the early afternoon in the Hannah Town area, just behind the KPH. Groups of masked men armed with high-powered weapons were reportedly seen walking along the roadway early yesterday.

Meanwhile, police sought to reassure law-abiding residents that they need not fear the presence of the security forces in Tivoli, which has a history of tragic run-ins with the law, including one incident in which 27 persons, among them four policemen, were killed.

"The police are also appealing to these residents to report any acts of criminality and are assuring these citizens that they have nothing to fear from the presence of the security forces as we intend to conduct our operations in a professional manner, in accordance with the law, and in the interest of all concerned," said an afternoon statement from the Police High Command.

The police, as expected, declined to say how they intended to serve the arrest warrant on Coke.

"We have and will be executing the warrant. We won't tell you or anybody else what are the options we are foreseeing, but certainly they will be strategic and deliberate," said Deputy Commissioner Glenmore Hinds, the officer in charge of operations.

Asked if Coke was in the Tivoli Gardens community, Hinds responded: "Certainly you do not want me to tell you what I know and what I don't know. Now is not the time when we can be free and open to the media."

And while Jamaicans went about their business in downtown Kingston yesterday, storeowners and vendors were taking all the necessary caution.

"...A don't even know what to say, we just have to keep watching," said a storeowner who operates on Orange Street. Vendors were seen whispering among themselves, but declined to comment.

In East Kingston, thugs threatened to firebomb the police post in Mountain View. However, it was not clear if it was linked to the Dudus extradition issue.

The request for the extradition of Coke was submitted last August, but the Jamaican Government delayed acting on it, arguing that the evidence presented by the Americans was gathered in breach of Jamaican law.