Money-laundering probe yields $30m cash, high-end vehicles

OVER $30 million in cash and a number of high-end motor vehicles were seized during a marathon police operation yesterday, marking the culmination of a high-level, multiagency money-laundering investigation that is pointing to a political figure, law enforcement sources have revealed.

One person was taken into custody during the early morning operation in Old Harbour, St Catherine, which lasted all day, sources revealed. According to one source, the suspect was grilled for hours by police investigators.

“[The suspect] has indicated that the money was received from a political figure to be invested,” police investigators told The Gleaner last night.

According to law enforcement sources, the investigation is being led by the Constabulary Financial Unit (CFU), a division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC). Investigators are reportedly focusing on suspected breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act, which has a limit of $1 million for persons doing business with financial institutions.

But C-TOC boss Assistant Commissioner Fitz Bailey declined to comment on the operation or the probe. “I have no comment,” Bailey insisted when contacted by The Gleaner yesterday.

However, law enforcement sources revealed that a BMW motor car and an Audi sports utility vehicle were among several vehicles that were seized after CFU investigators swooped down on premises in Old Harbour shortly before daybreak.