Montego Bay woman accused of scamming still not charged
WESTERN BUREAU: THE ST James woman who was arrested on Sunday after she was allegedly found with identity information associated with the lotto scam has still not been charged, albeit she remains in police custody and could find herself in deep trouble, based on the claims against her.
According to reports, the woman, whose identity has not been released, was reportedly found to be in contravention of the Law Reform Fraudulent Transactions Special Provisions Act (lottery scamming) following a search of her home in Orange district, which is several miles east of Montego Bay.
“She is still in custody but she has not yet been charged,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Webster Francis, the new head of the Lottery Scam Task Force. “Arrangements are being made for a Q&A (question and answer) with her and that will determine our next course of action.”
According to reports, on Sunday, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., detectives assigned to the Lottery Scam Task Force carried out an operation at the woman’s house, and, during a search, found several items of electronics and documents with identity information of persons living overseas. She was promptly taken into custody.
While the number of persons
being arrested for breaches of the Law Reform Fraudulent Transactions Special Provisions Act appears to be on the decline, a law-enforcement officer recently told The Gleaner that the illicit practice remains rampant, albeit, it has taken on a level of sophistication, which makes tracking the perpetrators more difficult.
“They rarely operate from any one location for a long time. Today, they could be in Montego Bay, tomorrow they are in Mandeville, and by the weekend they are in Kingston,” the officer said. “Because most of them are mobile and they realise that the police are always on their tracks, they are constantly on the move.”