THE five men charged with the alleged theft of 500 truckloads of sand from a prime beachfront property at Coral Springs, Trelawny, are to again appear in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate’s Court in May.

The May 1 mention date was set when the men appeared in court last Wednesday.

The five accused are 61-year-old Edric Grey, a contractor from Irwin near Montego Bay, St James; Desford Cooke of Lilliput, St James; Christopher Pryce and Devon Sterling, both of Kingston; and Anthony Hilton, a resident of Trelawny.

Among the charges laid against the men are simple larceny, conspiracy to defraud and illegal sand-mining.

During the period May 20 and July of 2008, a total of 500 truckloads of sand were extracted and stolen from a prime 64-acre property at Coral Spring near Duncans, forcing the developers, Felicitas Limited, to call off a proposed $8-billion development, for which the beach would be the centrepiece.

Felicitas is jointly owned by 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.

The theft of the sand attracted international attention, including the Ripley’s Believe It or Not feature and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).