A number of men accused of dishonesty were denied bail by Parish Judge Chester Crooks who felt that they would only use their freedom to prey on unsuspecting individuals.

During the morning session in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Friday, most of the accused men, who had appeared from the holding area inside the courtroom, were charged with fraud-related matters.

But Crooks, who was adamant that they remain in custody during the Yuletide season denied the first bail applications that were made by attorneys-at-law Davion Vassell and Vincent Wellesley minutes after 11:00 am.

When Andrew Richards and Ricardo Bayliss appeared in the dock, Crooks told them to have a seat as their attorneys made a formal request to have them in the company of their family for Christmas.

Wellesley, who is representing Bayliss told the court that his client’s daughter wants him home for Christmas. Vassell’s application on behalf of Richards was similar.

“Of course I understand he wants to go home for Christmas,” Crooks said prior to reminding the attorneys that the alleged crime carried out by their clients were related to cybercrime activities and that he thinks granting the men bail creates a likelihood for them to offend.

Wellesley replied: “It is not for him but for his children who want to see him.”

Crooks replied: “I can give you 2.7 million reasons to keep him in custody.”

“Minus two,” Wellesley said to the amusement of the court. The prosecutor told the court that other individuals are expected to join both accused in the dock at a later date.

Noting that he had heard similar utterances before, Wellesley said: “Every time we come here he says that there are others to be charged. He is saying that to impress upon you to not grant them bail.”

It is alleged that a credit card holder realised that the unauthorised transactions were being carried out on his card and brought it to the attention of his bank. The bank investigated and informed the police.

An operation was subsequently carried out by the police and Bayliss and Richards were held at a petrol station.

According to the prosecutor, $300,000 bank cards and blank cheques were taken from Bayliss. The men were subsequently remanded. They are expected to appear in court on January 8, 2019.

Minutes later, a taxi operator who was busted when he went to Rainforest Seafood on Half- Way-Tree Road, St Andrew tendered a fake cheque with $90,000 written on it and an invoice was called up.

Dean Johnson appeared in the dock. The court was told that after Johnson presented the cheque, further investigations revealed that the cheque was “not good”. He was subsequently taken into custody.

The prosecutor told the court that when the 48-yearold Vineyard Town resident was cautioned, he said: “Is one a mi friend name Gibson gave me the cheque to collect the things and drop it off at Bethel Baptist Church. I don’t know where he lives. I met him in Cross Roads couple months ago.”

He too was remanded until next year. Next in line were Michael Cheese and Leon Cole. Both men are charged with cybercrime offences involving thousands of dollars.

The court was told that $640,000 was removed from a card holder’s account. Investigations led to the arrest of Cole and Cheese. The court was told that Cole was a repeat offender.

Before his attorney could complete her application Crooks said: “We are in the Christmas season, I have to weigh against the public interest.”

The judge pointed out that the police have been warning the public to take extra precaution on the road during the festive season. “There is no condition that will protect the public interest,” Crooks said.

He further noted that criminals can easily access and extract personal information from the Internet with a laptop.