By BBC - Caribbean
February 16, 2007
........................................................................................................................................ |
| Jamaican police were questioning 20 people who were among 40 arrested in connection with an international lottery and sweepstakes scam. |
The suspects were held in raids carried out in Montego Bay and other communities in Western Jamaica.
For months the Police have been reporting that the scam has been a main contributor to the escalation in the number of murders in that part of the country.
|
 |
| Officials from the police special squad Operation Kingfish have described those arrested as the main players in the scam run by criminal elements in Montego Bay. |
| Inspector Steve Brown of Operation Kingfish said the police suspect that the scam is supported by workers at the several international call centres based in Montego Bay. |
| These workers have been accused of releasing confidential information on people in the United States and other countries to their cronies who then call unsuspecting individuals in these countries telling them that they are lottery winners. |
| The Police say disagreements over the sharing of money generated from the scam have led to gun killings across the parish. |
| Since the start of the year, more than 30 people have been killed in the Montego Bay area, and the police have linked some of these killings to the scam. |
| The arrest of the suspects in the most recent raids came weeks after the leadership of the Police Force implemented strategies to clamp down on people involved in the scam. |
| Late last year, there were reports that police officers were involved in that illegal activity, and were behind some of the gun murders. |
| These claims are still being investigated by the Police Force. |
| Of those arrested, one woman has been charged. |
| The 19 year old was found with well over a million Jamaican dollars or just over 15 thousand US dollars in cash. |
|
 |
| latest news |
|
|
| |
|
