THE St Catherine South police on Tuesday said they made a major dent in the 'Pepper' gang when two of its members were killed in a mid-afternoon shoot-out with lawmen in Windsor Heights, St Catherine.

The police said two guns were recovered and one of the men killed has been identified as 'Killer Bean'. A policeman from the St Catherine South Fugitive Apprehension Team was also shot but his condition is not considered serious.

The Pepper gang is led by Stokely 'Pepper' Collins, who was last month named among the Area Five police's 11 most wanted men.

Collins, also known as 'Stinger', is the St Catherine South division's most wanted. His gang operates in the Windsor Heights-Central Village area and extorts from businesses in the parish.

Reports from the St Catherine South police are that a team from their Operations Division had gone into Windsor Heights in search of men who had earlier engaged an Area Five unit.

While in the area, the police said they were attacked by men and two were killed after a firefight.

Collins remains on the run, but the police said they are making inroads against the gangster.

Last year, Collins had allegedly issued a threat against the Central Village police, causing a military-like build-up of reinforcement at the police station, which is sandwiched by Central Village and Windsor Heights.

Following Tuesday's shooting, residents openly said the policemen narrowly escaped greater firepower.

"Is about 15 man a come off a di hill with dem AK. Dem lucky di man dem backup never reach in time, or else a different thing would a gwaan on yah today," one onlooker told THE PORTMORE STAR.