KINGSTON, Jamaica — Western Jamaica was the focal-point of local and foreign officials yesterday, July 10, as the police move to clamp-down on lottery scamming activities in Jamaica.

The operation, which took place in the parishes of St Elizabeth, Hanover and Westmoreland, resulted in the arrest of 14 people who were subjects of an international probe into the illicit lottery scam.

Led by the Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Taskforce (MOCA), the operation also involved personnel from the Financial Investigation Division (FID), the Mobile Reserve, Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the Jamaica Customs Department and partners from the United States.

According to a release from the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) today, the individuals arrested were the recipients of money or goods garnered from victims through their different facilitators who participate as intermediaries in the act.

Meanwhile, CCU noted that yesterday’s action is the second segment of an operation that was led by the United States Postal Inspectors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida earlier this year.  That segment happened over a one week period (January 13-18) as a collaborative effort between United States (US) officials and Jamaica.

The officials intercepted transactions amounting to a little less than US $250,000, which had been sent to 28 Jamaican nationals residing in the US. The money was reportedly sent by more than 34 unsuspecting elderly US citizens.

These Jamaican nationals are described by law enforcement as “Money Mules” who had intended to transmit the money to 11 suspected Jamaican scammers.

Consequently, yesterday’s operation was planned and executed in an effort to curtail the benefits these “unscrupulous” people seemingly obtain from scamming unsuspecting US citizens, the release said.

The people arrested will be interviewed in the presence of their attorney following which formal charges will be laid.