Christopher
Michael Christopher Coke was born on March 12,1969, the son of accused drug lord Lester Lloyd Coke, who died in a fire in a jail cell while awaiting extradition to the US on drug charges.
Nicknamed "Dudus", young Coke was later to earn a similar reputation as a drug lord and the leader of the internationally notorious Shower Posse gang.
In 2009 the United States began asking for the extradition of Christopher Coke from Jamaica, claiming he was deeply involved in the trade of ganja, cocaine and guns between the two countries.
Bruce Golding, Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, initially refused to extradite him, claiming that the United States had used illegal wiretapping to gather evidence on Coke.
This created tension both between the United States and Jamaica, and within Jamaica itself.
After much public outcry and the Prime Minister's admission that he had sanctioned his party's hiring of a US law firm to negotiate with the US government on extradition issues, Mr. Golding finally gave the go ahead for a warrant to be issued for Coke's arrest.
On May 17, the Government of Jamaica issued the warrant.
Following this news, Coke's supporters began protesting and arming themselves, and barricades were erected on the perimeter of Tivoli Gardens, the known enclave of the accused Coke.
Kingston was placed under a State of Emergency after a series of shootings and fire bombings within the city.
On May 24, police and military forces launched a large-scale operation aimed at taking Coke into custody.
By May 27, at least 73 people had died in clashes between the security forces and gunmen in West Kingston.
The bloody dragnet failed to catch the area-don-turned-fugitive.
The police intensified efforts to dig him out of hiding and over ensuing weeks, the body count linked to attempts to capture him, rose.
In the interim, Coke's sister and his brother were turned over to the police, their names on an extensive list of wanted men and reputed gang leaders.
The fugitive remained on the run for almost a month.
This latest chapter in Christopher Coke's turbulent life ended with his arrest at a police checkpoint on June 22, 2010 and his extradition on Thursday.
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