KINGSTON, Jamaica – The police have arrested two men, including a teacher, after they allegedly attempted to extort a substantial sum of money from a St Elizabeth businessman.

Reports are that between Saturday, November 22, 2014 and Sunday, January 4, 2015 a St Elizabeth businessman was contacted by the two accused men, who demanded money so that his life would be spared, as there was a hit out on him.

The police say that the accused men contacted the businessman several times in relation to paying over the money, warning him that a deposit had already been collected for his assassination and that he should pay over the balance in order to prevent it.

According to the police, the businessman, in fear of his life, agreed to pay over the sum of J$265,000 to the men, after which he reported the matter.

On January 7 the National Strategic Anti-Gang Unit (NSAU) at the Organized Crime Investigations Division (OCID) and the St Elizabeth Proactive Investigations Team (PIT) commenced an investigation.

The businessman’s cell phone was sent to the Communication Forensic and Cybercrimes Unit (CFCU) for data to be extracted.

One of the men was subsequently nabbed in Nain, St Elizabeth and the teacher, employed to a prominent high school in Clarendon, caught in May Pen during a sting operation on Friday, January 9 the police say. The identities of the two are being withheld pending further investigations.