Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

Eight more persons have been taken into custody by the Montego Bay police in connection with the lucrative lottery scam in St. James.

"There have been ongoing operations across the parish, mainly in the Granville, Bogue Village and Bogue Heights areas," Superintendent John Morris, acting commanding officer for St. James, said Tuesday.

"We are now in the process of doing some forensic examinations of cellphone records and documents that were recovered."

The weekend arrests follow those of two Montego Bay policemen who were detained on December 2 for reportedly confiscating $97,000 from two key players in the lottery scam without arresting them.

The constables remain in custody pending a ruling from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

"We believe that three of the men in the recent arrests are major players in the scam," Supt. Morris added. "Our focus is being intensified to bring a halt to this scam in the (police) division."

Unscrupulous Information

Police say the scheme is being aided by unscrupulous information communication technology (ICT) workers who provide local scam artists with personal information on American clients, who are then conned out of large sums of money under the false impression that they are paying for a legitimate service.

"It is a very lucrative business. The players are making between US$4,000 and US$10,000 on average weekly," Sergeant Carl Brown of the Area One Fraud Squad disclosed to The Gleaner recently.

"The perpetrators are mostly males between ages 18 and 40. Females are also involved in the scam both as collectors, as well as providing the names and critical personal details about the victims."

Schoolchildren are reportedly being recruited in the scam to collect monies from remittance outlets.

At least six of the 172 murders recorded in St. James since January have been linked to the scam, also known as 'Dial Up' and 'The Game'.

Intelligence indicates that the proceeds are being used to buy protection from gangs and in the acquisition of illegal guns.

To date, 20 persons have been arrested in connection with the scam.

Eleven of the cases have been adjourned, as local detectives are being handicapped in the preparation of their cases by the fact that American victims are reluctant to come to Jamaica and testify in court.

Lynda Langford, country operations manager at Affiliated Computer Services in the Montego Freezone, believes that Jamaica's ICT sector could be blighted, unless the lottery scam is quickly contained.