Police in Ajax have arrested a man alleged to be part of a Jamaican police “death squad” who is wanted in the island nation for the murder of one man and currently being investigated in connection with the killings of 40 others.

Witney Hutchinson, 28, told border officials that he was visiting family when he legally entered Canada in the summer of 2012, according to Toronto police Det. Andrew Lawson. The Toronto police fugitive squad arrested Hutchinson in front of the Ajax home where he was renting a room.

The cases involving Hutchinson and several other officers is among a slew of investigations now being carried out into police in Jamaica, which has been plagued by police killings for decades, according to Amnesty International. The agency reported that from 2000 to 2010, there were 2,220 people killed by police and just two officers convicted.

“It’s been a chronic problem for many years. Overreach on the part of police and various forms of misconduct, including, most egregiously, extrajudicial killing,” said Michael Kuelker, a specialist in Jamaica with Amnesty International U.S.A.

In 2013, 258 civilians lost their lives at the hands of Jamaican police, according to the Independent Commission of Investigations, the agency that has been investigating police killings and misconduct since its creation in 2010. The agency has more than 1,900 active investigations, more than 60 per cent of which are fatal shootings, assaults and shooting injuries.

Hutchinson is wanted for the 2011 killing of Sylvester Gallimore, according to Toronto police. Const. Pete Samuels, an officer in the Clarendon area of Jamaica currently at trial, is also charged with killing Gallimore.

Kahmile Reid, spokeswoman for the commission, declined to comment on Hutchinson’s arrest Monday afternoon.

Hutchinson and eight of his fellow officers are also under investigation for 40 civilian killings. Local media in Jamaica have dubbed the group a police “death squad.”

His return to Jamaica may not come swiftly, according to criminal lawyer Daniel Brown, who has worked on extradition cases before.

“It could be a very quick process, if he doesn’t contest extradition, or it could be a very lengthy process if he contests it and uses all the avenues available to him,” said Brown. “Not only that, but he has lots of opportunities to seek bail. Obviously the more serious the offence, the less likely someone is going to obtain bail.”

Tim Alamenciak can be reached at tim@thestar.ca .