MONTEGO BAY, St James — Three people are now in custody on reasonable suspicion of breaching the Petroleum Quality Control Act and the Larceny Act in connection with a case of aviation fuel theft at the Sangster International Airport in May.

The police have withheld their identities pending further investigations.

The three were held during a pre-dawn operation conducted by members of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), the Financial Investigation Division and the Mobile Reserve in communities across St James Friday morning.

According to MOCA, the operation targeted three dwelling houses and a business place.

Cash amounting to over $2 million was seized, as well as a number of electronic devices and documents.

Reports are that on May 10, a fuel tanker was seen refuelling at the Jamaica Aircraft Refuelling Services plant at the airport. This aroused the suspicion of airport officials, as the refuellers were only used to refuel aircraft coming into the airport.

A search was subsequently conducted and approximately 4,000 litres of fuel was found. A report was made to MOCA and an investigation resulted in Friday’s operations.