WESTERN BUREAU: Three senior policemen have been transferred from Hanover in a shake-up of the local police, apparently because of police chief, Francis Forbes’s disaffection with how local commanders handled a recent riot triggered by the collapse of a pyramid scheme.

There have been suggestions that several cops were “investors” in a scheme called the Quick Cash Partner Plan, and that their attempt to get back their money contributed to the April 23 riot when demonstrators attacked the police station in the parish capital of Lucea.

Four police officers were injured, in the incident.

The police high command has not announced the reasons for its action, but Superintendent Anthony Morris, who was in charge of the parish; Morris’ second-in-command, Deputy Superintendent Howard Brown as well as the operations officer, Inspector Erril McBean, were all transferred effective May 1.

Morris has been sent to Area 1 Headquarters in Montego Bay; Brown will work from the Remand Centre in downtown Kingston, and McBean as been assigned to Kingston Central.

According to Observer sources, Forbes was angry that Doris Dale, who operated the pyramid scheme, was allegedly allowed to make payments to police officers who had invested in her pyramid scheme at the Lucea station — a claim rejected by Morris.

There were additional claims that Dale may have been released from police custody before Fraud Squad investigators had the opportunity to question her.

Morris conceded that police officers were among people who had deposited money in Dale’s scheme and had demanded their money back but insisted that payments were not made at the station.

“Like anybody else the police demanded their own (money) and I was adamant that it is not going to happen here,” Morris said. “There was no money paid out here … The lady sought refuge here and I believe we did the right thing in trying to safeguard her.”

Morris stressed, too, that that it was not until about Thursday that “depositors” decided to co-operate with Fraud Squad investigators and gave statements against Dale.

Dale’s scheme was among a slew of pyramid schemes which have mushroomed in western Jamaica in recent months before collapsing leaving angry “depositors” out-of-pocket.