The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) authorities have launched a probe after prison staff seized two cell phones from convicted dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel in three days at the Tower Street Correctional Facility in Kingston.

According to a Gleaner report, the DCS confirmed that Vybz Kartel, whose given name is Adidja Palmer, was among three inmates possessing the prohibited items on the block where he resides.

During a search, the staff allegedly found one of the prohibited items in his possession last Friday, May 19, 2023, and the other on Sunday, May 21, 2023.

The DCS’s statement came in the wake of a post on the artiste’s Instagram page in which he reported that he had been placed on a 23-hour lockdown since the staff seized the phones and that the lockdown was affecting his health due to poor ventilation.

The Instagram post claimed that Kartel reportedly had had thyroid issues since the lockdown and has not been breathing correctly.

Further, the post claimed that the lockdown order was supposedly imposed by a superintendent who had ‘ill will” against the entertainer and described the order as a heavy-handed punishment.

However, the DCS rubbished the claim that Kartel is on lockdown.

The department told The Gleaner that staff members did seize the phones from the entertained but that he was not placed on lockdown, as the artiste occupies a normal cell.

The DCS, however, said his movement is restricted pending the outcome of the investigation.

It also indicated that it had not received any complaints from the artiste about his health.

The police charged a Westmoreland taxi operator with assault after he pointed a gun at the complainant.

The Negril police have reported that they have charged David Kennedy, o/c ‘Brown Man,’ age 20, taxi operator, of Whitehall, Negril, Westmoreland, with assault at common law and possession of a prohibited weapon concerning an incident in Tank Hill, Negril, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

According to the police, at about 6:00 pm, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, a man was at his home when Kennedy approached and pointed a firearm at him and threatened to kill him.

Fearing for his life, the man ran to the police station and made a report.

On Wednesday, May 24, the police arrested and charged Kennedy after the complainant pointed him out to the police.

His court date is pending.