MONTEGO BAY, St James — Citing recent arrests in St James and Trelawny, head of the Anti-Lottery Scam Unit in Area One, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dave Brown, has expressed concern about the increasing number of women and minors involved in lottery scamming activities that continue to fuel criminal networks across Jamaica.

“What we’re finding is that more females are really involved in scamming activities, as also we find young children under the age of 18 also actively involved in these sorts of activities,” he revealed.

“We are here to ensure that the country, on a whole, is safe in terms of deterring all these lottery scammers who are contributing to the criminal ecosystem and that is by way of actively supporting gang activities through the purchase of weapons, etcetera,” he added during a media briefing in Montego Bay, Wednesday.

To buttress his argument, he referenced recent arrests in the Area One Police Division, which includes the parishes of St James, Trelawny, Hanover and Westmoreland.

“The last operation that we had last week, we went to the community of West Gate Hills (in Montego Bay), where we arrested four persons. Out of those four persons, two were females — young females, 20-year-old, etcetera,” said DSP Brown.

“In Trelawny also, we found that females were actively involved in those activities. We arrested one female in that incident. So they’re actively participating,” he added.

He noted that, in many cases, women are working closely with their male partners.

“What we find is that most of these males we have arrested, their girlfriends are actively involved in the whole business of lottery scamming,” said the senior cop.

Turning his attention to underage players involved in lottery scamming, DSP Brown referenced a recent police operation in Trelawny.

“Last week we went to the Trelawny area and we found a 17-year-old, still attending school, [who] was actively participating in lottery scamming. He was found with a number of lead sheets and other paraphernalia. He was also in the company of [a] 20-year-old, as well as a child who was said to be under the age of 18 years old,” he revealed.

He expressed disappointment at the growing number of children who are opting out of getting an education, lured by the prospects of fast money and flashy vehicles associated with scamming. However, DSP Brown stressed that the Anti-Lottery Scam Task Force is committed to steering youth away from criminal activity.

“It is indeed a concern for us. What we’re seeing is that these kids are no longer motivated to go to school to get a solid education, or to really learn a skill for which they can develop and contribute in a positive way to the development of our country,” he said.

“And so we will intervene in terms of deterrent strategies to see how we can deter these children away from a life of lottery scanning. It is a fast life. It comes with a lot of bling in terms of the flashy new cars, the BMWs, the [Mercedes] Benz. Kids who are not under the proper guidance are really drawn to these sorts of activities. So we need to really see if we can steer them towards a more ethical and moral way of earning a living and contributing in a positive way to self-development and also to the whole development of country,” DSP Brown added.

He said the task force will intensify its efforts across the country.

“We’ll be going after these scammers. Some of them are known; some of them are new on the block. We’ll be actively ramping up our efforts and be relentless,” DSP Brown said, adding that operations will be expanded outside of Area One to other parishes including St Mary and beyond.

“We will be going after them with the support of our local and international partners,” he said. “We are equipped to meet those challenges and to ensure that the country is on the right path, in terms of its development, without a life of scamming.”

Head of the Anti-Lottery Scam Task Force Deputy Superintendent of Police Dave Brown speaking during a media briefing in Montego Bay Wednesday.