WESTERN BUREAU – The Negril police were last night interrogating 10 men accused of robbing a villa in the tourist resort of Negril in Westmoreland and injuring a visitor.

The visitor, Roger Rodney of the United States, was chopped in the head during the robbery and was treated at a Savanna-la-Mar hospital then released. It was not clear what his condition was last night, but a source told the Observer that after being released, he complained of feeling dizzy and again sought medical help at the hospital.

The men, who a police source said were armed with handguns and machetes, went to the Tigress 2 Villas at Negril’s West End between 1:00 am and 2:30 am yesterday morning, where they tied up and gagged the security guard on duty at the complex. The men, the source said, then went to rooms occupied by visitors, kicked the doors open and robbed occupants of an undetermined sum of money and jewellery.

Rodney, who was the only one injured, was chopped during the robbery.

Police said the men escaped in two motor cars, which were parked outside the villa while the robbery was taking place.

However, the cars were later intercepted by the police and the 10 held for questioning.

It was not clear last night if any of the money or stolen jewellery had been recovered.

The attack follows a similar incident four months ago at another Negril property when a gardener was shot dead and a security guard wounded during a robbery by machete-wielding assailants. In that incident, six Britons and a Canadian were robbed of about US$50,000 in cash and jewellery.

Yesterday, Director of Tourism Paul Pennicook, who is attending a conference in Puerto Rico, told the Observer by telephone that he was notified of the latest incident, but said it was too early to assess the likely impact on the winter tourist season, which started on December 15.

“As regards to implications, to be honest, it would be too early to say. My people in Jamaica are following up on it, and I would be very much out of order to make a comment from here without having more details,” Pennicook said.

The minister of state in the tourism ministry, Dr Wykeham McNeill, also said it was too soon to comment on the likely impact but said he anticipated that there would be some amount of overseas publicity.

“In every country all over the world you have incidents like this. Unfortunately, ours are far more publicised than in most countries,” McNeill told the Observer.

At the same time, the minister of state said the police, members of the Negril community, as well as tourism interests, were working together to “bring this episode to a quick conclusion”.

“The entire community is galvanised around this incident,” McNeill said.

Meanwhile, he announced that arising from the incident, the Jamaica U-Drive Association yesterday promised to donate cars to the Negril police to help speed up the response time of crime fighters in that resort town. Two of the cars will be handed over today. According to Barry Jenoure, an executive member of the U-Drive Association, the donations were being made to improve the mobility of the police and to enhance their effectiveness in the Negril area. He said, too, that U-Drive members would also be making donations of cash and kind to assist the Negril police.

A total of four vehicles, one each from Hertz, Island, Budget and Bargain car rental companies, will be rotated in pairs at two-week intervals.

The tourism minister, Aloun Assamba, who expressed appreciation for the assistance from the U-Drive Association, also encouraged other members of the business community to help protect their interest in the tourist resort.

“I want to encourage all the businesses and people of Negril to come together to protect the hospitality industry in their area by assisting the police and forming neighbourhood watches,” the minister said in a statement from her Kingston office.

Meanwhile, she announced that the Tourism Product Development Company, in collaboration with the police, will be having more training seminars on the improvement of security in tourism-related businesses.