TRUCK FULL OF CHICKEN STOLEN
Thieves make off with 300 birds on Christmas Eve
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, a Best Dressed Chicken truck carrying hundreds of chickens ready to be prepared for holiday dinners was stolen.
The hoodlum or hoodlums stole the truck, which belongs to the Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG), after breaking into one of the four compounds operated by the JBG in Spring Village, St Catherine.
It was reported that the truck had been loaded with 300 chickens, each packaged in its own bag.
Dave Fairman, vice-president of the Best Dressed Chicken division of the JBG, told THE WEEKEND STAR that the truck was retrieved but that some of the meat was gone.
“A Best Dressed Chicken truck was stolen at approximately 2:40 a.m. on December 24, 2019. The stolen truck was retrieved by the police in the Amity Hall community in St Catherine on the same morning with some of the loaded product removed,” he said. “The police are currently investigating the matter and have our full cooperation.”
According to Superintendent Clive Blair, head of the St Catherine North police division, it was discovered that only 88 of the 300 chickens that had been packed into the white Freightliner freezer body truck had been recovered.
212 STOLEN CHICKENS
This was shortly after the vehicle was tracked to the Amity Hall community. Police arrived at the location following notification, and a thorough search was conducted. The value of the 212 stolen chickens is currently unknown.
Likewise, the JBG, responding to queries from THE WEEKEND STAR yesterday, said that the police are working to connect the dots.
“It (the truck) has been retrieved by the police … , who are addressing the matter,” the company said.
This is the latest assault on poultry items by robbers. Last Monday, men on motorcycles robbed a woman’s KFC bucket, which had 21 pieces of chicken.
Earlier in December, the JBG revealed that chicken is usually in high demand during this season, noting that there was an increased demand for this particular year.
“We are seeing somewhat of an increase. We see an increase in demand in every segment of customers. The industry usually ramps up production in preparation for the Christmas season …. That includes both poultry companies and small farmers,” Ian Parsard, senior vice-president of finance, said at that time.