MONTEGO BAY, St James — Individuals hauled before the courts to answer allegations of lottery scamming continue to walk free because of the Communications Forensic and Cybercrime Division’s (CFCD) inability to provide reports that are crucial to the prosecution’s case.

On Monday, the cases against three St James men who had been accused of possessing identity information crumbled.

The three — Omar Scott, Javaris Maxwell, and Josimar Richards — appeared in the St James Circuit Court before High Court Justice Judith Pusey.

As outlined in court, Scott was arrested on April 20, 2018 after police searched him and said they found a cellphone containing the names and addresses of people living overseas. He then led the cops to his house, where a search was conducted. During a search of a chest-of-drawers in Scott’s room the police said they discovered a notebook and three letter-sized sheets containing names and addresses.

When questioned about the items Scott claimed that they belonged to someone else but failed to give the whereabouts of that person.

After the allegations were outlined on Monday the Crown counsel informed the court that the CFCD report was outstanding and that the policeman who could corroborate the evidence presented was on sick leave. She also revealed that the investigating officer had resigned.

“Given that the matter has been before the court since 2018, in the interest of justice I don’t think it is fair to ask for a further adjournment to obtain these outstanding documents,” the prosecutor said before offering no evidence against Scott.

The allegations against Maxwell are that on November 12, 2018 he was found in possession of a mobile phone that contained identity information of individuals residing overseas. When cautioned he reportedly stated that he had not used the information.

The court was told on Monday that the investigating officer in Maxwell’s case had also resigned, and that the corroborating officer’s statement and CFCD report are also outstanding.

In light of those challenges the prosecutor said she was not willing to await those documents and also offered no evidence against the accused.

In the case of Richards, the court was told that police went to his house and found him on a bed in a room, with a female. The police requested a search of his two mobile phones, one of which was found to contain identity information of people who live overseas.

When questioned, Richards stated that he had no idea how the numbers ended up on his phone.

“Boss, I bought the phone for $3,000,” he said to the officer.

The court was also informed that the CFCD report and the corroborating officer’s statement remained outstanding. Due to the absence of the report the prosecutor stated that the Crown would have difficulty proving that the information was used or intended to be used for illegal purposes.

As a result the Crown offered no evidence against Richards.

These three cases are the latest in a long list against alleged scammers that have had to be dismissed because of a combination of the CFCD’s challenges and investigating officers who are not available.

On July 4, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes expressed concern about the number of scamming cases that had to be dismissed in the less than one month that he had been presiding over the Trelawny Circuit Court. In response, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn explained that systemic shortcomings at the CFCD had contributed to 52 cases being dismissed.

She said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the CFCD have been in constant discourse over the years and that there has been interaction with different levels of the police force hierarchy to determine the best way forward. However, she noted it was obvious that, notwithstanding the best efforts of the police, “there are long-standing and entrenched issues that undermine their timely provision of reports in lottery scamming matters”.

Among these issues, the DPP said, was the high turnover rate of highly qualified CFCD employees who are often lured by more lucrative offers; the feeling that there is a lack of opportunity for career advancement within the CFCD; and the high case load which is becoming even more onerous as cyber-related cases increase.