Police Following Leads in Petrol Theft at JUTC Depot

Several leads are being followed by investigators in connection with July’s theft of petrol from the state-run Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s (JUTC) Rockfort depot in East Kingston, a company official has disclosed.
The JUTC’s Communications Manager, Reginald Allen, told JIS News that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) East Kingston Division, “under direction from the Police High Command,” is leading the investigations.
He informed that the police have intensified their investigations, adding that they have been assisting the company “in a proactive way,” to prevent re-occurrence of the incident, by complementing security arrangements that have been instituted at the depot.
In July, Transport and Works Minister, Hon. Michael Henry told journalists at a post-Cabinet media briefing that fuel had been siphoned from a number of buses at the depot, by thieves who accessed the location where the units were parked. Stressing the seriousness of the matter, Mr. Henry advised that efforts were being made to strengthen security at the facility to prevent re-occurrence of the incident.
“The police and the JUTC Security Department have instituted some proactive measures and strategies and are actively pursuing investigations. They have been somewhat successful in terms of both containing (the theft) and intelligence gathering. There are persons now on the radar. The investigators have a good idea who are involved, and are trying to gather the necessary evidence to bring persons to book,” Mr. Allen informed.
He noted that two persons are currently before the courts on charges of simple larceny of fuel from the Rockfort depot, pointing out that that incident occurred prior to July’s theft. Those matters, he added, are expected to go to trial in the near future.
“We still need to put in more effective measures for the long term, but we have done what we think is prudent at this point,” he said.