Richard Currie listed as person of interest following alleged barricading of seven Forestry workers
EDITOR’S NOTE: Police have withdrawn the statement listing Accompong Maroon Chief Richard Currie as a person of interest in the incident.
ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Accompong Maroon Chief Richard Currie has been listed by the police as a person of interest following the alleged barricading of seven Forestry Department workers in Quick Step, St Elizabeth, over the weekend.
Head of the police’s communications unit, Senior Superintendent of Police Stephanie Lindsay, confirmed that Currie is being asked to turn up at the St Elizabeth divisional headquarters in Black River by 10:00 am on Monday.
“There is an investigation underway and they have asked him to make himself available to the police by 10 o’clock on Monday, so they can have some further discussion on the matter,” she explained.
UPDATE: Currie not listed as person of interest after alleged clash with Forestry workers
Sources told Observer Online that the seven (six men and a woman) Forestry Department workers were on enforcement duty on Friday when they attempted to remove mahogany lumber from Quick Step.
Quick Step is a neighbouring community to Accompong in the Cockpit Country in northern St Elizabeth.
According to Lindsay: “They were in the area conducting enforcement when they came upon the mahogany. They got a truck to remove the lumber, and that was when they were attacked and barricaded in the area. They weren’t able to make contact with the police until late in the night.”
“The police sent a team, and that team was barricaded in, and it was Saturday afternoon when Superintendent Minto did a coordinated operation with members of the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) and the fire department, and they were able to rescue the individuals,” she added.
However, Currie took to social media to question the actions of the Forestry Department.
“What is the Forestry Department doing with mahogany? Solid mahogany. You know how old this tree must have been… So when our people have the problem and we raise the problem, it is as if we are the obstruction…” he said.
— Kasey Williams
