By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterFOUR POLICE constables and an ex-policeman were detained yesterday in a sting operation in Jacks Hill, St. Andrew, in connection with an alleged multimillion dollar extortion racket.
Two of the lawmen detained are attached to the Denham Town Police Station in West Kingston while the other two are assigned to the Canine Division and Motorised Patrol. The ex-policeman is formerly of the Greater Portmore Police Station in St. Catherine.
"This is part of the Commissioner of Police's plan and decision to clean up the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Our intelligence capability has been intensified to deal with organised criminals, both in and outside of the police force. This effort to arrest our own points to the integrity of the system," said Superintendent James Forbes, Executive Director of the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN).
The five detainees were intercepted at the foot of Jacks Hill after police got wind of their plans to go to the home of a 32-year-old married man in Jacks Hill, who they were planning to abduct, along with his children.
Sources tell The Gleaner that a Superintendent from an inner-city police division is believed to be mastermind behind the ring. Senior police sources are tight-lipped about yesterday's sting operation as it is likely to implicate senior members of the force and is bound to generate fears throughout society.
Allegations are that the men, who are part of a larger organised crime ring, were on their way to the man's home, where pretending to be members of the Fugitive Apprehension Team (FAT), they would present false arrest warrants to intimidate the man. The plan was to extort US$3 million or J$155 million from him.
It is alleged that the intended victim had earlier been warned that failure on his part to meet their demands meant he could possibly be jailed or handed over to United States authorities.
The Gleaner understands the policemen, who have been under surveillance for the past two months, were travelling in two cars which were searched. The police said the men had four handguns as well several license plates and a list of names of Colombian and Jamaica nationals, suspected to be drug dealers.
Among the papers found were fictitious documents suggesting that the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted the suspected dealer. The police also seized five cellular phones, two of which belonged to the police detained.
Yesterday's detentions came sharply on the heels of a shooting at the La Roose night club in Portmore, St. Catherine, where four persons were shot and injured by a group of policemen who went there allegedly to extort $30,000 from the dance promoter.
"Following the incident the Commissioner has immediately interdicted four policemen who were involved in the shooting," Superintendent Forbes told The Gleaner yesterday.
