KINGSTON, Jamaica — An additional five drivers of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) Limited have been arrested and charged in a bus ticket fraud scam that targeted unsuspecting passengers.

They are 59-year-old Paul Edgar of a Waterford St Catherine address; 58-year-old Andrew Bird of Lascevelles Avenue, Kingston 2; 43-year-old Jason Lenroy Blackwood of Caymanas Park, Gregory Park, St Catherine; 62-year-old Elvis Simms of Waterford, St Catherine; and 52-year-old Marlon Barnett of Albion Heights, St Thomas.

Edgar was charged with two counts of embezzlement and five counts of failing to issue tickets to passengers. The offence was reportedly committed on March 11 and 12, 2026. Meanwhile, Bird was charged with the offences of embezzlement and 11 counts of failing to issue tickets to passengers. That incident reportedly took place on February 11, 2026.

Blackwood was also arrested and charged with embezzlement and four counts of failing to issue tickets to passengers, reportedly committed on February 26, 2026; Simms was charged with embezzlement and 25 counts of failing to issue tickets to passengers, reportedly committed on March 17, 2026; and Barnett was charged with embezzlement and five counts of failing to issue tickets to passengers, reportedly committed on March 3, 2026.

The charges were laid between Wednesday and Thursday.

The men were offered bail and are set to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on April 21, 2026.

The latest development follows the recent arrest and charge of four drivers employed by the company in relation to an alleged ticket scam in which the drivers reportedly pocketed cash collected from passengers without issuing tickets.

READ: Four JUTC drivers charged in bus ticket scam