Get-rich-quick people to explain wealth – nat’l security minister

PERSONS WHO have acquired wealth overnight may soon have to explain to the authorities how they received this good fortune.

This is because the Government is taking steps to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act to have persons explain sudden wealth.

Minister of National Security Robert Montague, who made the disclosure in Parliament yesterday, said the anti-gang legislation would also be amended to create a watch list for suspected gang members and for the implementation of control orders against suspected criminals. The two pieces of legislation should be ready in the next legislative year, he said.

Another anti-crime initiative that the Government says it will be pursuing involves a joint programme against tax cheats who are suspected of funding criminal activities.

In a statement to Parliament, the national security minister also commented on the state of public emergency in St James, which was declared by the prime minister last Thursday.

Montague revealed that the security forces have also embarked on several operations across the country to apprehend wanted men who may have escaped the dragnet of the lawmen.

He said operations carried out in St Catherine North have resulted in the detention of 18 persons, while one man was taken into custody in St Catherine South.

Operations have also been launched in Westmoreland, St Ann, and St Mary.

Two men wanted by United States authorities were also apprehended by the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch.

Davy Scott, 48-year-old, who is wanted in New Jersey for assault against the police and several other offences, was held in Portmore, St Catherine. Fifty-one-year-old Peter Marley, who is wanted in Florida for multiple sex offences involving minors, was held in Cherry Gardens, St Andrew. Montague told members of the House of Representatives that the men would be extradited to the United States.