Glenroy Sinclair, Senior Crime Reporter

The disappearance of a vault with over $8 million in cash and cheques, and at least 19 passports, from the construction office of Pihls, in Port Maria, St. Mary, has left the police baffled.

According to the police, the passports belonged to several British, Danish and other foreign nationals who are working on the North Coast Highway, which runs from Port Antonio, Portland, to Ocho Rios, St. Ann.

Corporal Angela McTaggart, the Constabulary Communication Network's liaison officer for Port Maria, told The Gleaner yesterday that the money and travel documents went missing between Thursday night and Friday morning.

Weighing 800 kilograms

She said the matter was brought to the attention of the police by the projects manager. Reports are that about 5:50 a.m. when the manager turned up for work at the Llanrumney office in Port Maria, he observed that the vault which weighs about 800 kilograms and is three feet in width, was gone.

This is an office which has adequate lighting both in and outside, in addition to security guards who are posted on a 24-hour basis. Checks by the police revealed that a part of the perimeter fencing had been cut away, but it was not wide enough for the vault to be pulled through.

The police also observed that a glass door at the rear of the office was broken and this could be where the perpetrators entered.

"There are no suspects at the moment. The matter is still being investigated. The police have since collected one statement," said Cpl. McTaggart.