FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck says he is swift in signing off on requests from the United States for the extradition of scammers, once the requests are on “good grounds”.

At the same time, Chuck noted that several scammers waive their rights to extradition hearing in Jamaica and consent to proceed directly to the United States under the terms of the Extradition Laws and Treaty between Jamaica and the US.

“The Government of Jamaica is working very closely with the US authorities to weed out the scammers. And I can tell you, as soon as an extradition for a scammer reaches my desk, within a matter of hours I glance through. Most of them consent, but if they don’t consent, and I see good grounds, I sign without any problem… in a matter of hours,” Chuck said.

He was speaking on Tuesday, the second day of the two-day Child Abuse Guidelines Training seminar for the Jamaica Constabulary Force and justices of the peace, organised and facilitated by the Office of the Children’s Advocate at the Royalton Luxury Resort in Trelawny.

Earlier this month, speaking at the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (MBCCI) two-day security summit held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Dominick Riley, the country attaché, US Postal Service, US Embassy, warned that a number of Jamaican lottery scammers will be extradited to the United States this year.

Riley did not indicate the number of scammers who will be extradited but noted that there are “several in the pipeline”.

“With the way that the extradition laws changed in the summer of last year, in August 2021, extraditions will be picking up. You shall see a lot more extraditions coming in the future,” Riley declared.

“You know, of course, extradition is not an easy thing. It’s not a quick thing. So you know it has to go through the proper process so you will see more in the future,” added Riley.

He underscored that both Kingston and Washington are discussing the inadequacy of penalties for convicted scammers.

When asked if there has been a marked increase in the number of extradition requests from the US for the extradition of scammers Chuck replied: “There is no doubt that there have been quite a number of requests. I can’t say if there is an increase but there have been a few [requests]. In fact, in most cases, the parties having been provided with the evidence, they have consented. So it’s not a problem.

“I suspect [there have been increased requests] but they have not really shown up in my office as yet but quite a few [scammers] have consented and provisions have been made for them to go to the States. But I can’t say if there is an increase because it’s a steady amount that comes every now and then.”