Residents of Tivoli Gardens expressed both surprise and relief upon hearing that their one time benefactor Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was captured by the police in the vicinity of Ferry on the Mandela Highway, on the border of St. Andrew and St.Catherine.
"Relief fi know say him safe and dem no kill him," explained one resident who did not want her name published.
The Gleaner tried to get a comment from Coke's mother, Pauline "Patsy" Halliburton, but were turned away by residents who said relatives had left instructions that the media be barred from her apartment.
However, under the watchful eyes of the security forces, a small group of women milling around in the community spoke openly about the man many of them still revere as a hero. "Me glad dem take him in and me hope dem treat him very safe and dont hurt him. Give him his constitutional right," said Marion Powell.
"Me hope the US (United States) come and get him soon ," she added.
The businessman has been on the run since the Jamaican government signed an extradition request on May 18.
The Gleaner understands that he was in the company of the Reverend Al Miller. Miller said he was carrying Coke in to the US Embassy in Liguanea when he was stopped by the police on the Mandela Highway.