AN analysis of samples carried out by the Mines and Geology Department in relation to the illegal removal of sand from Coral Springs in Trelawny, may assist the police in its investigations into the matter, Jamaica House said Monday.

Jamaica House, in a press release, said that a report containing the analysis was handed over to Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields by the minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Daryl Vaz, at a meeting Monday afternoon.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the National Environment and Planning Agency, the investors in the Coral Spring beach resort - Felicitas Limited - and the Island Special Constabulary Force.

Vaz said now that the report, which he received Friday, has been handed over to the police it would form part of their ongoing investigation. He said that having tested the samples, the Mines and Geology Department was satisfied that there was enough data to assist the police investigation.

However, he said that since the matter was being investigated by the police he would make no further comment until they are completed with the probe. Vaz said the Government had been working assiduously and that the delay in receiving the report had to do with the technical nature of the investigations and the fact that a number of scientific tests had to be conducted.

Vaz also said the investors, Felicitas Limited, like the government, were concerned about the environmental and other implications for Jamaica, in relation to illegal sand mining and illegal quarrying overall, and were confident that the investigations will be successful in bringing the guilty party/parties to book.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding last month ordered a probe into the theft of an estimated 500 truckloads of sand from a prime 64-acre property at Coral Spring near Duncans in Trelawny, which now seriously jeopardises a proposed $8-billion beachfront development.

The consortium, Felicitas Limited, includes 15 of Jamaica's most successful entrepreneurs who shared a common dream of developing 36 six-star, luxury villas with spa, restaurant, amphitheatre and marina in phase one, that would serve as a catalyst for undeveloped Trelawny.

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Gardens with Gravel

Death to the Mullet!