The St James Police have increased their crackdown on lottery scamming in the parish, following a spike in gang related conflicts in recent months.
In a statement on its Instagram page, the police say several ongoing gang conflicts in the St James Police Division are linked to lottery scamming.
As such, the police have increased the pressure on scammers. One suspected scammer was arrested this week.
On Wednesday, a joint police-military team raided a premises in Montego Bay in the parish. A 24-year-old man who lived at the residence was arrested.
The police say lottery scamming paraphernalia, to include several books containing identity information of people residing overseas, two cellular telephones and a hard drive were found during the operation.
In addition, the police say 17 men and women from St James have been arrested on lottery scamming charges from January 1 to April 29 this year.
All 17 have been charged for possession of identity information.
They are:
1. Kevoy Walton
2. Rhaniel Thompson
3. Roy Ricketts
4. Ceomar Russell
5. Michael Webster
6. Stephen Hood
7. Chad Dixon
8. Reeca Anglin
9. David Bonner
10. Davian Bailey
11. Miguel Ellis
12. Elarik Martin
13. Yukari McNaughton
14. Shauvaun Francis
15. Shandee Brown
16. Gregory Doeman
17. Marco Shaw
