Paulwell

Western Bureau:

In an attempt to head off the threat to the local information technology (IT) industry by cyber crimes such as the Montego Bay 'lottery scam', Government is now seeking to solicit the support of sector players to enact new laws to address the problem.

At a closed-door meeting in Montego Bay on Friday, Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell asked the sector to submit as soon as possible a draft copy of the proposed law, which he hoped would be similar to one enacted by the Swiss government, which had a similar problem.

At a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum in western Jamaica, Lynda Langford, country operations manager at Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), in Montego Bay, said the 'lottery scam', which the police have also blamed for a spate of recent murders in St. James, was putting the jobs of her company's 1,400 employees in jeopardy

"No successful business can operate in a climate like this," said Ms. Langford, in reference to murderous carnage and the use of cyber technology to con American citizens out of millions of dollars under the guise that they are providing a legitimate service.

"If this situation continues, we might be forced to take our business out of Jamaica," added Ms. Langford. "Government must move swiftly to address the problem."

Procure weapons

Investigations by the local police and their overseas counterparts have revealed that in addition to murders, the money was also being used to procure weapons for the criminal underworld.

In backing Minister Paulwell's initiative, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Clifford Blake, who is based in Montego Bay, said the police are in possession of evidence suggesting that the scam money is also being used to procure weapons for the criminal underworld.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Denver Frater, the head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), said that while he could not divulge too much information, significant headway was being made in bringing the major players in the lottery scam to book.

"We are now getting solid assistance and cooperation from our overseas partners," said ACP Frater. "As a consequence, we are now better able to cross some of the hurdles that were hampering our investigations in the past."