Eminem's seventh studio album, Recovery, has sold over 700,000 copies in its first week in stores. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the exact figure comes to around 741,000.  The LP is officially the best debut of the year thus far, and Em may not run into much competition for the remainder of 2010, with the exception of Kanye West. The only other recent album to sell more in its first week is AC/DC's Black Ice, which shipped 784,000 copies in 2008.

Recovery was initially slated to be a continuation of Em's sixth studio album Relapse, and as such was going to be titled Relapse 2. But after starting the recording process the Detroit-bred lyricist released a statement that read, "The idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title."

Not Afraid, the first single from the project, was released in April and debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming only the 16th song in Billboard's history to do so, and only the second rap single to accomplish that.

The LP features production from Just Blaze, Boi-1da, Mr. Porter, Jim Jonsin, DJ Khalil, and Dr. Dre, amongst others. The only features come courtesy of singers Pink and Rihanna, and rapper Lil Wayne.

Dancehall artiste Bounty Killer was acquitted of assault charge yesterday when he reappeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court to find out if the matter would proceed to trial or be dismissed.

Bounty Killer, real name Rodney Pryce, was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm for beating up his girlfriend after she informed him that she wanted to terminate their three-year relationship.

Resident Magistrate Stephanie Jackson Haisley ordered the couple to seek mediation after the complainant, Kadeem Baker, told the court that she no longer had an interest in proceeding with the case.

The report was also presented in court yesterday.

RM Jackson-Haisley said she had made the decision to drop the case against Bounty Killer after reviewing the contents of the report.

Bounty Killer was arrested in April and initially taken into custody at the Constant Spring Police Station. He was later transferred to the Greater Portmore Police Station.

Since his release from police custody on bail, Bounty Killer has released songs such as, How We Do It with Elephant Man and Summ'n A Guh Gwaan with Busy Signal. He also released a song in response to his time spent incarcerated titled Jail.

Pusha T from the United States rap group Clipse has recorded a song paying tribute to extradited Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

The rapper is from the group which has done popular songs like Grindin, When Was The Last Time and Hot Damn.

Yesterday, the song, Dearly Beloved, that was done about Coke surfaced on the Internet.

In the song, Pusha T said: "Dearly beloved hail Dudus/ Machine gun chain smothered/ A mere child rebel soldier that's what became of us/ Immortalised kingpins is what remains of us/ Money comes too fast for him to give it up/ And because of a war, he has to give it up/ First God then Dudus/ Rest in peace Vivian Blake. Shout out to Shower Posse."

This is not the first time that a song has been done about Coke. Last year, Twin of Twins recorded Which Dudus that was very popular.

extradition

Coke was extradited to the United States last week after being caught by the police on Mandela Highway. In a search for him, more than 73 people were killed in Tivoli Gardens. The manhunt also took the security forces into inner cities, rural communities and upscale neighbourhoods where Coke and his associates were suspected to be hiding.

Dudus was indicted in the US on a range of drug and guntrafficking offences.

POPULAR dancehall DJ Vybz Kartel is expected to hand himself over to the St Catherine South police today, a day after being named as a major person of interest. However Vybz Kartel and his lawyers Valerie Neita-Robertson and Tom Tavares Finson question the rationale for such a list.

Below is a statement that was sent by Vybz Kartel:

"I, like millions of other Jamaicans, have certain concerns about the violation of my civil rights and liberties during this State of Emergency, however, I will grant the police an audience this morning as they have declared me a "major person of interest", and placed my name on a list populated by alleged criminals.

This is not the first time that the police force has attempted to smear my reputation based on half-baked assumptions and ridiculous rumours, but as it happened then, I know I will be exonerated once again. I have nothing to fear. Fear makes men believe the worst, but I believe in our justice system, however flawed it may be, and remain confident that the security will act with professionalism in this matter. I have engaged legal counsel in this matter, and the truth will prevail.I know I will be exonerated."

Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adijah Palmer, is one of six persons who police in that division said they had an interest in interviewing.

The other men are:

* Omar Lawrence, also called 'Hommie', of Anglin Lane, Newlands, Portmore;

* Seymour Johnson, otherwise called 'Bulb Eye', of Braeton Phase One;

* Paul Smith, alias called 'Kerone' and 'Biggs', of Big Lane, Central Village;

* Oneil Myurrie, also called 'Neily', of Little Lane, Central Village; and

* Damion Perry, alias 'Tillyman', of Old Harbour Bay.

The police have named more than 100 major persons of interest, since Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced a limited state of emergency last month in Kingston and St Andrew, and which was last week extended to St Catherine.

Vybz Kartel and the other five men are the latest addition to the growing list.

The state of emergency gives the police the power to detain persons indefinitely.

Despite rising popularity among dancehall fans, Vybz Kartel has had a troubled year. He has been banned from performing in Barbados and St Lucia after authorities in those countries branded his music as undesirable and a wrong influence on young people.

His studio at Kirk Avenue in Havendale, St Andrew was locked down by the St Andrew North police after residents of the community complained that the recording studio was attracting undesirables who were making their lives hell.

Drug Enforcement Administration personnel bring alleged gangster Christopher Coke to a waiting vehicle at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, yesterday afternoon. - AP

Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, the alleged drug kingpin who enjoyed demigod status in the west Kingston stronghold of Tivoli Gardens, shared the fate of mortal man when he spent last night under armed guard on United States soil.

The 41-year-old arrived shortly after 6 p.m. (Jamaica time) at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, and was taken to a federal lock-up.

The strongman, who was captured by the police on Tuesday, was whisked out of Jamaica by plane at 2:05 p.m. yesterday, four hours after he waived his right to an extradition hearing.

Coke was taken by heavily armed security personnel to the Norman Manley International Airport and placed in the custody of US Marshals who were waiting to escort him on to an unmarked aircraft.

Coke is escorted by law-enforcement agents towards a plane at the Norman Manley International Airport, moments before flying to the United States. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

The quickly organised departure of the man who was, up to a month ago, considered the most feared person in Jamaica brought an anti-climactic end to the mayhem that accompanied the extradition request from the United States in the summer of 2009.

Minutes after Coke signed the consent documents - indicating that he would not challenge his extradition - he was hit with a restraining order, freezing all his assets.

There was nothing defiant about Dudus' demeanour throughout the course of yesterday's historic proceedings.

Christopher Coke is led to court by soldiers at the police Mobile Reserve headquarters in Kingston.

"I have instructed my attorneys that I intend to waive my right to an extradition hearing in Jamaica and to proceed directly to the United States under the terms of the extradition laws and treaty between Jamaica and the United States of America," Dudus' attorney, George Soutar, quoted Coke in a statement to the court.

Later, Coke assured a probing Resident Magistrate (RM) Georgianna Fraser that he was fully aware of the ramifications of his decision.

After eluding the police for a month, the dragnet descended on Coke in less-than-spectacular fashion than the deadly gun battle that triggered a state of emergency in late May.

Christopher Coke speaks with Drug Enforcement Administration personnel at Kingston's Norman Manley Airport before being jetted away to the US. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

The dramatic challenge to the attempts of security personnel to apprehend Coke last month was absent yesterday, although the armed forces took no chances.

Gone was the bravado of Tivoli Gardens residents who demonstrated in support of Coke before barricading themselves into the community.

Vigilant policemen and soldiers searched vehicles on Industrial Terrace in that community during a consistent drizzle, as the time drew near for Coke to make his appearance in court.

The sound of a Jamaica Defence Force helicopter droned on and on as it hovered, while on the ground, security personnel cordoned the precincts of Up Park Camp and the Mobile Reserve.

Dudus seemed calm, oblivious to the buzz around him as he entered the court flanked by soldiers, but minus his attorneys, minutes before the scheduled start of the 10 o'clock hearing.

The aircraft carrying Christopher 'Dudus' Coke on its way to the US.

Attired in blue, striped shirt, guards towering over the 5' 4" captive who also bears the moniker 'Short Man', Dudus glanced around, before briefly nodding in acknowledgement of journalists.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn told RM Fraser, who presided over the hearing, that Coke's attorney had not yet reached court.

Fraser inquired of Coke who was his lawyer, to which Coke politely responded, "George Soutar."

As if on cue, Soutar entered the room with Tom Tavares-Finson, another attorney, in tow.

Soutar announced that Dudus had expressed a desire to waive his right to a local court hearing, before reading from a prepared text he attributed to Coke.

The attorney told the court that Coke said he had made the decision of his own free will even though he believed his case could have been successfully argued in the courts of Jamaica.

"I take this decision for I now believe it to be in the best interest of my family, the community of western Kingston and, in particular, the people of Tivoli Gardens and, above all, Jamaica," said Coke's statement.

Coke acknowledged that the entire country had been adversely affected by the bloodshed related to his extradition.

He said he hoped that his decision yesterday would help to heal the community of Tivoli Gardens, which the army stormed to uproot a militia, resulting in the deaths of one soldier and 73 civilians.

Tavares-Finson expressed appreciation on Coke's behalf yesterday for the professional treatment he received while in custody.

Tavares-Finson commented that even the court was being fair to Coke, eliciting a brief smile from the resident magistrate

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's official. Christopher 'Dudus' Coke has waived his rights to an extradition trial in Jamaica.

Authorities intend to take Coke to the United States by 3:00 pm today.

He was also served with a Restraint Order, which means that the State has frozen all his assets.

The extradition hearing which took 15 minutes, held at the Mobile Reserve along Camp Road in Kingston earlier this morning.

He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, Clarks shoes and grey jeans pants, gold chain and white undershirt.

Nodding to reporters as he entered the courtroom about 9:55 am, Coke was escorted in without cuffs, accompanied by three policemen.

When he was heading to sign the consent form, he again looked up at reporters. The look on his face suggested he was now resigned to his fate, which his lawyer George Soutar confirmed to the Observer.

Soft-spoken, Coke said he understood that he will be facing trial in New York and confirmed that he wanted to waive his rights.

The signing of consent order took about five minutes.

His lawyers were Tom Tavares Finson and George Soutar.

After the hearing Coke was taken to a place called Red Fence on the Jamaica Defence Force Up Park Camp Headquarters where he will be held pending his extradition.

US representatives were also present in court. The only other persons allowed were press and local law enforcement officials

Resident Magistrate Georgianna Fraser presided.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOURS before his extradition to the United States, former Tivoli Gardens don Christopher ‘Dudus' Coke asked Jamaicans to pray for him.

In a two-page typewritten statement issued through his lawyer Tom Tavares Finson, Coke said he was leaving with a heavy heart, but was convinced he would be "vindicated".

"Pray for me and God bless Jamaica," Coke said. "I leave Jamaica and my family, in particular Patsy [mother Pauline ‘Patsy' Halliburton], with a heavy heart, but fully confident that in due course I will be vindicated and returned to them."

He said he had taken the decision to waive his rights to an extradition trial "on my own free will and have done so even though I'm of the belief that my case would have been successfully argued in the court of Jamaica".

"I take this decision for I now believe it to be in the best interest of my family, the community of West Kingston and in particular the people of Tivoli and above all Jamaica," he said.

Coke will be taken to the United States today, where he faces drugs and gun-running charges.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KINGSTON (Reuters) - Alleged drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke was arrested by police on the outskirts of Kingston on Tuesday, peacefully ending a manhunt for the fugitive at the center of last month's deadly raids in the Jamaican capital.

Coke, 42, is wanted for extradition to the United States on drug and gun trafficking charges. Police said they arrested him without violence at a road checkpoint in the Portmore area of St. Catherine Parish.

Reuters - Christopher "Dudus" coke, a notorious suspected Jamaican drug lord, is seen in this undated ...

Seventy-six people were killed in four days of gun battles last month when police and soldiers stormed the Tivoli Gardens slum in west Kingston in an attempt to take Coke into custody.

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington declined to comment on reports Coke had been moved to army headquarters on Tuesday night.

"He appeared to be physically well and we will be preparing him to face the court as soon as possible," Ellington said.

Coke was on his way to surrender at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston when police stopped him at the checkpoint, according to a minister who accompanied him on Tuesday.

"The police searched the vehicle that I was in and they recognized him and held him," the Reverend Al Miller said.

Miller said Coke asked for his help in arranging the surrender at the embassy because he did not trust the police not to harm him if he surrendered to them.

"He also wanted to waive his right to an extradition hearing so that he could go to the U.S. for a trial," said Miller, a minister at the nondenominational Whole Life Ministry.

Dudus in wig when arrested

U.S. prosecutors have described Coke as the current leader of the "Shower Posse" that murdered hundreds of people during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.

Coke commanded a private militia and his supporters burned down two police stations and shot up four others in an attempt to prevent Coke's extradition during attacks that preceded last month's deadly raids.

Ellington, the police commissioner, lauded his men for the capture and urged them to be alert to potential threats from those sympathetic to Coke.

Ellington said he was uncertain whether Coke would be charged in Jamaica in connection with the deaths of two policemen and a soldier killed during last month's clashes.

Dudus clean shaven

"We are investigating all the attacks on our personnel and I am not in a position to make a definitive statement on that matter as yet," Ellington said.

He said the circumstances of Coke's capture were under investigation.

Miller, who has publicly opposed the United States' request to extradite Coke, was allowed to leave the police checkpoint after Coke was arrested, and Ellington said he was investigating why that was done.

Dudus placed in helmet by security forces

"The police are asking the Reverend Al Miller to immediately turn himself in at any police station along with his lawyer for questioning, as he is a major person of interest on a matter currently being investigated by the police," spokesman Karl Angell said.

If Coke waives his right to an extradition hearing, he could be sent directly to the United States for trial.

Coke was a strong supporter of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and wielded powerful influence in the west Kingston slums. Jamaica initially refused to extradite him to New York for trial after his indictment last year, and the case had strained relations between the United States and Jamaica.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former Tivoli strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is now in police custody in Jamaica.

The Gleaner understands that he was held in the vicinity of Ferry on the Mandela Highway, on the border of St. Andrew and St.Catherine.

The businessman, who has been on the run since the Jamaican government signed an extradition request May 18, was accosted by the police.

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.

The pastor has been instrumental in the surrender of Coke's sister Sandy and brother Leighton.

The one-month manhunt for Coke has stretched from inner city communities in West Kingston to upscale neighbourhoods in St. Andrew. Houses of past and present politicians have also been searched, as the quest to find Coke fanned out to rural communities in Manchester, St. Mary and St. Ann.

The Labour Day military assault on Coke's heavily barricaded Tivoli Gardens stronghold led to bloody clashes which claimed the life of one soldier and 73 civilians.

In their bid to find Coke the police also placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

Coke is wanted in the US on drug and gunrunning charges

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former Tivoli strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is now in police custody in Jamaica.
The businessman, who has been on the run since the Jamaican government signed an extradition request May 18, was turned over to the police this afternoon.

The Gleaner understands the Reverend Al Miller facilitated his surrender about an hour and a half ago to the police.

The pastor has been instrumental in the surrender of Coke's sister Sandy and brother Leighton.

The one-month manhunt for Coke has stretched from inner city communities in West Kingston to upscale neighbourhoods in St. Andrew. Houses of past and present politicians have also been searched, as the quest to find Coke fanned out to rural communities in Manchester, St. Mary and St. Ann.

The Labour Day military assault on Coke's heavily barricaded Tivoli Gardens stronghold led to bloody clashes which claimed the life of one soldier and 73 civilians.

In their bid to find Coke the police also placed a $5 million bounty on his head.
Coke is wanted in the US on drug and gunrunning charges.

Reputed gang leader Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who eluded a bloody police offensive in his slum stronghold last month, surrendered to authorities outside Jamaica's capital today, local news media reported. Coke has been called one of the world's most dangerous drug lords by US authorities and faces trial in New York on drug and arms trafficking charges. His surrender came nearly a month after 76 people were killed during a four-day assault by Jamaican police and soldiers on the West Kingston slum of Tivoli Gardens, which is Coke's base. He is wanted in New York on charges that he trafficked cocaine and marijuana as well as weapons between his Caribbean island and the United States.

The fling between Drake and Rihanna is finally explained.

The Canadian rap star tells it all in an interview, where Drizzle admits that RiRi made him a confident rapper, feel nervous and small.

Drake fed people's curiosity about his possible relationship with the Barbadian singer when in the opening track, Fireworks, of his debut album Thank Me Later, he says: "I could tell it wasn't love/ I just thought you f---ed with me/ Who could have predicted/ Lucky Strike would have you stuck with me" and "Damn, I kept my wits about me, luckily/ What happened between us that night it always seems to trouble me/ Now all of a sudden, these gossip rags want to cover me/ And you making it seem like it happened that way because of me."

Drake says he is happy to have the chance to properly explain what happened between the two, so that people will finally stop to assume and make up stories.

"She's [Rihanna] just such an overwhelming and incredible person. And such a talented person and someone that I was like, 'I can't believe I'm here talking to this individual,' that she just gave me that feeling like when I was 17 years old trying to take Nikki Ramos, this girl from Toronto, out on a date and she never wanted to go with me. She never would go; she would have a million excuses why she couldn't talk to me. That's how [Rihanna] made me feel, she made me feel small; she made me feel nervous. It just put me back to the Acura in Toronto, feeling like Aubrey Graham, not Drake."

The Young Money rapper's debut album hit stores on June 15. Expectations are high and industry estimates place first week sales in the 500,000 range.

Eleven people died in Jamaica overnight as police stormed the stronghold of a druglord wanted by the U.S.

More than 1,000 police assaulted the Kingston council estate occupied by heavily armed gangsters as a 48-hour slum standoff over Christopher 'Dudus' Coke exploded into violence.

The Jamaican government has already ordered a month-long state of emergency. Last night the Foreign Office was warning against all but essential travel to the Jamaican capital.

The U.S. wants to extradite Coke to face cocaine-trafficking and drug-running charges.

It is not clear today if he is still in Kingston or if he has managed to escape to another part of the country.

Many residents of the island nation's capital see Coke as a community leader, and have barricaded the Kingston slums to prevent his seizure by police.

'They say they are prepared to die for him,' Elizabeth Bennett, a radio reporter for Nationwide 90 FM, told reporters over the weekend.

'Coke is seen as a saviour by many people. He provides employment, he provides treats for the children at Christmas. People worship the ground he walks on.

'They don't have a crime problem there. It's like a Utopia for them. He takes care of things for them.'

Gangsters loyal to Coke began barricading streets and preparing for battle immediately after Prime Minister Bruce Golding caved in to a growing public outcry over his opposition to extradition.

Jamaica's leader, who represents West Kingston in Parliament, had claimed the U.S. indictment relied on illegal wiretap evidence.

West Kingston, which includes the Trenchtown slum where reggae superstar Bob Marley was raised, is the epicentre of the violence. But security forces also came under fire in areas outside that patchwork of gritty slums.

Officials said at least two policemen and one civilian were killed and seven police officers wounded in the attacks last night. There were also reports of looting and carjackings.

Helmeted police in flak jackets and brandishing automatic assault rifles tried unsuccessfully to storm past makeshift barricades and infiltrate the poor Tivoli Gardens area of West Kingston where Coke was believed to be hiding.

They were forced to retreat after masked gunmen opened fire on them from high-rise buildings overlooking the barricades, which closed off seven main streets leading into the area.

A woman in Tivoli Gardens told Radio Jamaica that she and her terrified family were hunkered down in their apartment as a firefight raged outside.

'I really pray that somebody will find the love in their heart and stop this right now. It is just too much, my brother,' the woman told the station, the sound of a gunbattle nearby.

'The police is appealing to residents of Tivoli Gardens to desist from blocking the entrance to the community,' police force spokesman Karl Angell said in a statement.

"We are also appealing to the decent citizens of Tivoli Gardens who wish to leave to contact the police."

The normally bustling streets were mostly deserted, as the country marked its Labor Day national holiday and motorists and passersby steered clear of the trouble spot.

Golding said on Sunday the state of emergency would remain in effect for a month and would demonstrate that Jamaica is 'a land of peace, order and security' where gang-related violence will not be tolerated.

"This will be a turning point for us as a nation to confront the powers of evil that has penalized the society and earned us the unenviable label as one of the murder capitals of the world," he said.

In a gritty section of the capital of an island known more for reggae and all-inclusive resorts, the violence erupted after nearly a week of rising tensions over the possible extradition of Coke to the United States.

Golding had stalled the extradition request for nine months with claims the U.S. indictment relied on illegal wiretap evidence.

Lawyers for Coke - who in addition to Dudus is also known as Small Man and President - challenged his extradition in Jamaica's Supreme Court.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

TIVOLI Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is still at large despite a major security dragnet imposed on the volatile community of Tivoli Gardens during a two-day operation by the security forces.

National Security Minister Dwight Nelson made the announcement during a press briefing at Prime Minister Bruce Golding's official residence, Vale Royal, this afternoon.

"Up to the last briefing I got the answer is no," Nelson told journalists.

The security forces stormed the community in an attempt to serve an arrest warrant on Coke, who is wanted by United States authorities on gun and drug running charges.

Official police reports are that 26 civilians, two police officers and a soldier have been killed during the outbreak of violence. Seven cops and four Jamaica Defence Force soldiers were also injured.

Army fatigues, ballistic vests, binoculars and a cache of guns and ammunition were recovered during the operation.

Colonel Rocky Meade, head of communications of the Jamaica Defence Force shot down claims that soldiers were burning bodies inside Tivoli Gardens.

"Based on our training I would be very surprised if those reports were true," Meade said.

He said the security forces used the necessary force to repel the threat posed to the state.

"The JDF owns no fighter jets but I can assure you that we used no more force than was necessary to protect our troops," Meade said.

Jamaica death toll rises  

	Soldiers moved into the Tivoli Gardens area

Jamaican authorities have reported that at least 11 people died in the capital, Kingston, when troops stormed the stronghold of an alleged drug lord.

A state of emergency has been imposed in parts of Kingston after weekend unrest following protests by supporters of alleged drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke.

Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding has denounced unrest in the capital city Kingston as a "calculated assault on the authority of the state".

He vowed that criminals would not triumph, after supporters of an alleged druglord took to the streets to stop him from being arrested.

One police station has been set on fire and two others shot at by suspected supporters of Mr Coke.

Extradition order

The trouble began late last week when the authorities announced they would arrest and extradite Mr Coke to the US.

His supporters set up barricades and said they would fight to protect him.

The BBC's Nick Davis in Montego Bay says the capital now represents a city under siege.

Troops and police have come under fire, and smoke is rising from the burning police station.

Mr Golding said security forces would be "moving swiftly to bring the current situation under control".

"Criminal elements bent on violence and mayhem will be detained," he said in a televised address.

"Calculated"

"What is taking place is a calculated assault on the authority of the state that cannot be tolerated, and will not be allowed to continue."

A state of emergency allowing police to conduct searches without a warrant and restrict movement was put in place in West Kingston and St Andrews districts, where the violence broke out.

The government said the measures would be in place for at least a month.

The areas are a stronghold of support for Mr Coke, 41, who says he is a community leader.

Our correspondent says Mr Coke's supporters see him as a man who is fulfilling a role that the government does not.

He looks after them and gives them money when they are out of work, and because of that he has a huge amount of support in the area.

Police have called for his surrender and have described the barricades surrounding his area a sign of "cowardice", the Associated Press news agency reported.

Most wanted

	Jamaican PM: "an assault on the authority of this state"

The US Justice Department says Mr Coke is one of the world's most dangerous drug barons. He is accused of leading a gang called the Shower Posse - owing to the volume of bullets used in shootings - and operating an international smuggling network.

He faces a life sentence if he is convicted on charges filed against him in New York.

The gang has also been blamed for numerous murders in Jamaica and the US.

Prime Minister Golding said earlier this week that he was prepared to send Mr Coke to the US on drugs and weapons trafficking charges.

The decision reversed nine months of opposition to his extradition.

Mr Golding had argued that the evidence against Mr Coke was obtained illegally by intercepting mobile telephone calls.

But he changed his mind in the face of growing public discontent, and questions about his possible ties to Mr Coke.

He apologised to the nation and admitted he had mishandled the case.

The US and UK have warned travellers about possible violence and disorder in Kingston because of the situation.