KINGSTON, Jamaica – The police’s anti-corruption agency on Monday arrested one of its members while allegedly in the process of requesting money from someone being questioned as part of an investigation.  

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) said in a release shortly after the incident that the police constable was arrested in a “coordinated sting operation arising from its robust institutional integrity monitoring and intelligence gathering systems”.

The lawman was reportedly identified and apprehended as he attempted to solicit funds from the individual who was being questioned on a peripheral enquiry related to an ongoing MOCA investigation. 

MOCA said it views the unprecedented act by this officer as a serious breach of its high professional standards and will continue to conduct thorough investigations into the matter.

“MOCA’s stringent integrity checks and internal monitoring processes were validated today in keeping with our operational ethos ‘No One is Above the Law’. The arrest of this officer, who was caught in the act of soliciting money from a businessman, demonstrates MOCA’s vigilance and commitment to its mandate. We will continue to respond decisively to corruption and corruptive actions, wherever and whenever discovered. Integrity is non-negotiable,” MOCA’s Director-General Colonel Desmond Edwards stated.