Police To Intensify War Against Lotto Scammers

SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT of Police James Forbes has said the police will be stepping up the ante as it continues to wage an all-out war against lotto scammers across the island.

Forbes, who was speaking on Sunday at the launch of the Tryall Gardens Citizens' Association and Neighbourhood Watch, said while the police have snared some of the main operatives of the pervasive lotto scam, the war on lotto scammers is set to heighten.

"But more and more we are getting together and catching those who are fleecing people of their money and using their money to purchase drugs and guns to kill people. But more important, we are going to rid them of every single thing they have that they bought with the money they got from fleecing people.

We are going to seize the cars, we are going to seize the houses and, if push comes to shove, we seize the clothes they wear."

Forbes also indicated that, when the lotto scammers are caught, the police are going to ensure that they get locked away for a long time.

"Once they have been identified, we will lead them to some places where they will spend a long time, and by the time they come out, they are old and grey. What we want to say is that the money that they use to buy guns and kill people, we will rid them of that privilege."

He indicated that the police were making serious inroads in the criminal activity in Jamaica, citing that the title of the 'don' is no longer a 'celebrity' badge.

Ruiz Warren, lecturer at Northern Caribbean University, said it is sad that people have allowed criminals to imprison them while they roam free.

"...We have become the prisoners, but I want to say that what you have to do now is to transfer the fear from the victim to the criminal. The criminals must know that if they come to the community, we are going to lock them away," said Warren who was the guest speaker at the function.

He charged that a community is not defined by the size of the houses or the material possession of its residents, but by how well people relate and work to achieve a common goal.