KINGSTON, Jamaica — Members of the Senate have approved the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (Amendment of First Schedule) Order, which will empower the agency to investigate and prosecute a broader range of serious matters.

The legislation was piloted by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, during the recent sitting of the Senate.

She noted that the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) is an invaluable and effective tool in the fight against organised criminal activity in Jamaica, and the order is designed to strengthen the agency’s investigative scope, further strengthening Jamaica’s security architecture.

She explained that the order seeks to amend the first schedule of the MOCA Act to expand the pool of offences for which the agency may proceed against persons associated with or otherwise involved in organised criminal activity.

The pieces of legislation from which offences will be pulled include the Larceny Act 1942; Forgery Act 1942; Criminal Justice and Administration Act 2014; Road Traffic Act 2018; Firearms Prohibition Restriction and Regulation Act 2022; Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act 1966; Fisheries Act 2018; Praedial Larceny Prevention Act; and Common Law offences to include misconduct of public office, conspiracy, cheating the public revenue and inchoate offences.

Senator Johnson Smith said that MOCA is the first agency of its kind in Jamaica, and “the value added to law enforcement by MOCA over the past decade speaks for itself”.

“Since January 2020 to present, MOCA has conducted approximately 98 targeted operations, resulting in a total of 85 persons being arrested, 84 of which were formally charged,” she said.

The minister said the Government will continue to review laws and fortify the legislative framework to ensure that they are best aligned with the needs of the security forces in the pursuit of the fight against crime and violence.

— JIS