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Serious and Organized Crime Branch Reports Success in Operations

June 17, 2008

The Full Story

The Serious and Organized Crime Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is reporting marked success in its operations, with a number of arrests and seizures made during the last 12 months.
This disclosure was made by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Les Green, who heads the Branch, during a recent JIS Think Tank. The Branch is comprised of the Organized Crime Investigation Division and the Flying and Fraud Squads.
According to the Assistant Commissioner, the Organized Crime Investigation Division has been successful in the recovery of stolen motor vehicles, exposure of an illegal forgery operation and in resolving kidnapping cases.
“One stolen motor vehicle ring alone resulted in 15 motor cars being recovered and a large forgery centre was identified, where forged documents such as driving licences and titles were being manufactured by this enterprise, and certainly, that is now before the courts,” he informed.
In addition, he said that more than 123 persons have been arrested and charged for various offences and “enormous amounts of bootleg properties” have been seized. Arrests have also been made as a result of kidnapping reports in St. James, Clarendon, St. Catherine and Kingston, and these cases are before the courts.
Turning to the Flying Squad, which prioritizes robberies and violent crimes, ACP Green told JIS News: “they provide 24-hour patrol capability within the corporate area which is Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine, and they have been extremely successful.”
“They have undertaken over 200 specific operations in the last year alone, over and above their normal patrol and tasking operational activities, and recovered over 40 firearms, 350 rounds of ammunition and about 85 stolen motor cars,” he informed.
According to ACP Green, stolen motor vehicles present a major problem in Jamaica. Noting that some police were also involved on this illicit activity, he said a number of them have been arrested and charged by the Flying Squad and the Organized Crime Investigation Division. He informed that 25 per cent of the stolen vehicle recoveries made by the Flying Squad value more than $112 million and have resulted in charges being laid and prosecutions conducted.
As for the Fraud Squad, the Assistant Commissioner said that this troop is “still very much alive and effective and they have an extremely high arrest and conviction rate.”
The Serious and Organized Crime Branch was established in 2006 after a review of the JCF’s crime portfolio, following which new structures, systems and standards for the investigation of serious crimes were implemented.

Last Updated: June 17, 2008

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