By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter 
Traffic flows along the busy Portmore causeway in St. Catherine on Monday while at right is a section that has been cleared of
fisherfolk in preparation for the Portmore segment of Highway 2000. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
FRENCH CONSTRUCTION company Bouygues Travaux Publics has sacked 14 truck drivers who were assigned to the High-way 2000 project, following investigations into the theft of over 150,000 litres of diesel oil from the project.
Four persons implicated in the theft were arrested and charged yesterday. They were taken before the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court on charges of simple larceny. The four have been identified as Junior Charles, Omar Bryan, Donald Mirander and Throne Sinclair.
"In one month alone we lost over $1million worth of diesel oil," project manager of High-way 2000, Jean-Noel Foulard, told The Gleaner.
While the police are looking for several other persons who have also been implicated in the multi million-dollar racket, Mr. Foulard said his company has proposed to take legal action against the accused persons, with a view to recouping some of the losses.
DURING THE HAULAGE
Allegations are that the pilfering of diesel oil on the Portmore, St. Catherine leg of Highway 2000 has been going on for more than six months. It is alleged that during the haulage of the marl from one point to the other, the trucks are stopped and the oil leaked into containers, which are concealed in the bushes and removed at a later date.
According to Mr. Foulard, the stealing of the petrol started from early last year and in one day the company had to dismiss 22 drivers and then call in the police to probe the matter. This resulted in the arrest of the four men.
The men were nabbed, following the implementation of surveillance cameras that captured footage of several persons emptying the fluid from the trucks into vessels.
A spokesperson at the company explained that 110 gallons of diesel oil fills one truck, which is expected last them over four days, but reports are that the trucks were coming back to be re-filled at least twice per day.
DROP-OFF POINTS
"We found out that when the trucks are filled, drivers have their drop-off point where they off load five litres of gas per trip. The two biggest drop-off points were between March Pen and Lakes Pen roads. One driver has so far confessed that he earns $150,000 extra from the illegal sale of the oil," the spokesperson said.
Chairman of the National Road and Operating Construction Company, Kingsley Thomas, yesterday described the situation as "very annoying" and said it was a variation of the extortion racket that reared its ugly head during the construction of the Bushy Park leg of Highway 2000. In that instance, truckers hauling marl for the road project were being forced to pay extortion money. The police were called in and the threat receded.
