Illegal guns are being moved through St Elizabeth under the cover of routine traffic, police say, warning that motorists who flash their headlights to alert drivers about upcoming checkpoints could be helping criminals evade law enforcement.

The warning came after a pre-dawn operation in Santa Cruz and surrounding communities in the Breadbasket Parish led to the seizure of an illegal firearm and the detention of 16 people on Monday.

Superintendent Coleridge Minto, commander of the St Elizabeth Police Division, said roadblocks and stop-and-search operations remain among the most effective tools available to police for intercepting illegal weapons and apprehending wanted men.