THE police yesterday dug up two decomposed bodies from shallow graves on a large empty lot in Westchester, Portmore, St Catherine which detectives believe was being used by gangsters to bury their victims.

The Constabulary Communication Network last night identified one of the bodies as that of 32-year-old labourer Esmond Morris of Cumberland, also in Portmore. Morris, who went missing on December 6, had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. The second body is yet to be identified.

The bodies bring the total to be found on the property to three in the past two days, according to the police.

The police said yesterday that there could be more gruesome finds in the days to come, as detectives comb the partly vegetated property along Germaine Road, not far from the Bridgeport Primary School.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green, who heads the Criminal Investigation Branch, told the Observer that the police would be making further searches of the property that was once assessed for the construction of a private hospital.

"We believe that more bodies are buried there," said Green.

Shortly after the gruesome find, Mayor of Portmore Keith Hinds made an urgent call for the Police High Command to make every effort possible to rid communities within the municipality of criminal gangs.

"This is one of the first times I am literally lost for words," Hinds told the Observer. "To think that at this part of Jamaica that has enjoyed relative calm, to think that something such as this has happened is mind-blowing."

Most of yesterday morning was spent by the police clearing the overgrown vegetation with the aid of a tractor.

And as the police combed the cordoned-off area under the heat of the morning sun, residents expressed shock at the discovery. "Me can't believe what a happen in the area," said one woman.