The principals of Felicitas Limited, owners of a 64-acre piece of prime real estate located in Coral Spring, Trelawny, have been angered by the sudden disappearance of an enormous amount of white sand from their beach.

What was to be a US$109 million (J$7.8 billion) beachfront development by a consortium of Jamaican and overseas investors has been completely jeopardised, due to the removal of the beach.

In a release, the owners stated that no permission was given to any party or developer for sand to be removed from their beach.

"Only a month ago, this was a quarter mile of the most beautiful white-sand beach anyone could find in the world, and that is the reason why I invested in the project," said William Mahfood, one of the infuriated investors.

"I cannot believe the devastation that has occurred; it looks like a mined-out quarry."

Environmental nightmare

Initial estimates are that more than 500 truck loads of sand were illegally mined from the site and delivered to undisclosed locations. The matter has been reported to the Police High Command.

"Whoever is responsible for the catastrophic environmental nightmare must believe that the laws of the land do not apply to them," said Fredrik Moe, managing director of the development and one of the shareholders.

"I want to assure the people responsible for this devastation that we intend to use every available legal angle. They must be punished."