$50 million cash, 4 vehicles among seized assets in fraud bust at Caribbean Estate

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica – Two adults have been arrested and are expected to be charged under the Proceeds of Crime Act as well as the Firearms Act after a major fraud bust in Portmore, St Catherine on Tuesday.

Information reaching Observer Online is that between the hours of 5:00 am and 1:30 pm, an intelligence driven operation was carried out at a residence on St Vincent Boulevard in Caribbean Estate, which resulted in the recovery of approximately J$50 million, an undisclosed amount of US and British Pound currencies, four high end vehicles, as well as two firearms.

Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Anthony McLaughlin, who heads the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Division, said the suspects have been under the microscope for quite some time.

“This premises and these two individuals have been under the radar for quite a while, but, as you do know we try to ensure that all the efforts are put in a very tight and professional investigation,” ACP McLaughlin said.

He further noted that there is a link between accused lottery scammers and the increase in illegal firearms.

“One of the things that I want to advise persons about is that no longer are we seeing where persons who are charged with lottery scamming activities or fraud are just doing that. They are always armed with firearms so they are getting more violent as the days go by,” he said.

ACP McLaughlin said that the police may engage the Financial Investigations Division (FID), Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and the United States Embassy as the investigations continue.

-Kediesha Perry