Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

The police will today further interrogate several of the 32 persons detained yesterday in a series of operations aimed at destroying the infamous lottery scam operating out of Montego Bay.

The raids, spearheaded by the police taskforce, Operation Kingfish, were carried out in St. James and Hanover yesterday.

"We are convinced that we have hit it (the lotto scam) really hard and there is a major dent in this activity going on in Montego Bay, which is responsible for a number of murders and other crimes committed here," said Inspector Steve Brown, information officer for Operation Kingfish.

"Players in the scam are closely linked to the dangerous Stone Crusher Gang and we intend to get at the gang from all angles", he added.

Cash amounting to $1 million, nine high-end motor cars, cellularphones, computers and documents were also seized during the simultaneous joint military/police operations in Granville, Bogue Village, Westgate Hills and an establishment on Harbour Street in downtown Montego Bay.

A similar raid was also carried out in Lethe, Hanover. Several women were caught in the security dragnet; some of them being identified as collectors.

JCF linked

Inspector Brown confirmed that a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force was also targeted "but we did not get him".

It is alleged that the policeman has been linked to the scam, causing the security team to go to his house with a view to unearthing possible incriminating evidence. However, the plan fell through, as no one was present at the house when his colleagues went there.

The lottery scam is, reportedly, being facilitated by unscrupulous employees working in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. These workers are allegedly providing local scam artists with personal information on American clients, who are then conned out of large sums of money under the guise that they are paying for legitimate services.