Seven arrested in lotto bust in Westmoreland

A POPULAR firefighter and two females were among seven persons arrested in a major lottery scam operation, which the police carried out in Stewie district in Bethel Town, Westmoreland, between Sunday and Monday.

Facing charges of possession of identity information and illegal possession of ammunition are 22-year-old Ricardo ‘Rickie’ Clarke of New Mills district; 19-year-old receptionist Romona Wong Swaby, also known as Mona of Bethel Town; 42-year-old hairdresser Rena ‘Michele’ Bumaman of New Mills; 22-yearold Sheldon Gayle, also known as ‘Tweetie Bird’, unemployed of New Mills; 18-year-old Martin Walker Jr, unemployed of New Mills; 32-year-old Rohan Dixon, labourer of New Mills; and 26year-old Dene ‘Dennie’ Gardener, unemployed of Dongate district.

Between the hours of 8 p.m. on Sunday and 2 a.m. on Monday, a police unit from the Bethel Town Police Station, acting on information, went to Stewie district where they carried out an operation.

During the operation, several premises were searched and the lawmen found numerous leads sheets, which are among the main tools of lottery scammers. The police also found a quantity of ammunition and seized several cellular phones.

“The lottery scam thing is spreading into this community and it is a community with its trade mark of violence,” a police officer told The Gleaner. “We have seen what the lottery scamming has done to St James and we don’t want it here.”

The seven persons, who were taken into custody have since been charged. They are all slated to appear in the Westmoreland Parish Court on Tuesday, July 10.

The ongoing violence plaguing sections of Westmoreland, including the volatile Grange Hill, is being blamed on a battle for turf between rival scammers.