Illicit activities such as lottery scamming have been identified as the driving force for criminality in the parishes of St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, and Trelawny.

Superintendent of Police Vernon Ellis, who is acting assistant commissioner of police in charge of Area One, shared the outcome of a series of operations across sections of St James and Hanover, including Green Island, Ramble, Kingsvale, Pell River, Hopewell, Sandy Bay, and Mount Pelier last week.

Two persons, a man and a woman, were arrested for suspected breaches of the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) following the seizure of US$15,700 they could not account for, two motor vehicles, and several electronic devices containing personal information of international residents.

“This type of organised crime activity, from the intelligence we have and what we are seeing on the ground, is what is actually fuelling the purchase of weapons [and it is] also fuelling murders, so we intend to relentlessly pursue those persons involved in these activities. We had some big operations where over 100 elements from the security forces were brought to bear on specific areas, targeting lottery scammers,” said Ellis.

Wanted man arrested

The 48-hour operation, which started on August 17, was done in collaboration with agents from the United States Homeland Security Department and local law enforcement. It forms part of a wider operational surge in Westmoreland, St James, Hanover, and Trelawny carried out by the Jamaica Defence Force, the Caribbean Search Centre, and other stakeholders.

According to Ellis, the wider surge operation resulted in the seizure of 18 illegal weapons in 14 days.
Additionally, O’Brian Garvey, otherwise called ‘F1’, who was wanted in Hanover, was arrested and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, using a firearm to commit a felony, shooting with intent, and wounding with intent.

“We are definitely going to be focusing on the public order approach…Back-to-school is right around the corner, [and] the overall public order reset approach will be employed. We are going to be stepping heavily with our other partners, this time from the Transport Authority, the Public Health [Department], and the municipal corporations in the respective parishes; [We] will bring to bear some semblance of order in the region leading into our back to school,” Ellis said.

The operations will continue this week.