Andre "Blackman" Bryan this morning pleaded not guilty to leading the Spanish Town-based Clansman gang when the trial of the alleged members of the criminal network got underway in the Home Circuit Division of the Supreme Court.
There is a heavy police presence in the vicinity of the court.
Mr. Bryan's 32 alleged accomplices, including a woman, also pleaded not guilty to being a part of a criminal organisation.
The alleged gangsters are accused of committing murders, conspiring to commit murders and arson from 2015 to 2019.
They are being tried under The Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) (Amendment) Act, commonly known as the anti-gang legislation, as well as the Firearms Act.
The prosecution began laying out its case minutes after 10 o'clock before Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.
The trial is being heard in two courtrooms and will involve 40 attorneys and 43 prosecution witnesses.
The Chief Justice has issued media guidelines for the coverage of the Clansman gang trial, which include prohibiting the publishing and broadcast of the particulars of civilian witnesses such as names and identification.
The names of prosecutors should also not be published or broadcast.
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