TWO FIREARMS SEIZED, THREE CHARGED IN CARD-SKIMMING RING BY THE SIB
In the past 24 hours, police personnel from the JCF’s Specialised Investigation Branch (SIB) seized two illegal firearms and disrupted the operations of a card-skimming and cryptocurrency laundering ring in two separate operations in Marverly, St. Andrew and Mandeville, Manchester over the weekend.
Report indicates that at about 12:50 p.m. on Saturday, February 14, members of the SIB’s National Strategic Anti-Gang Division, carried out an operation on West Main Drive, Marverly, St. Andrew where the two pistols and five rounds of ammunition were seized; no arrests were made.
Simultaneously, members from the SIB’s Fraud Squad and Financial Crimes Division arrested and charged three employees of a fast-food restaurant, after a client of a prominent bank reported unauthorised transactions totaling more than JMD$600,000 in Manchester.
The accused are:
• Twenty-nine-year-old Shaquiel Salmon of Swaby’s Hope district, Manchester.
• Twenty-year-old Abigail Preddie, cashier of Confidence Avenue, Manchester.
• Twenty-two-year-old Shane Williams, of Knowles Road, Manchester.
Reports are that Williams allegedly photographed customers’ credit and debit card information while working in the drive-thru line. This information was then used to purchase Bitcoin from overseas merchants. The cryptocurrency was subsequently resold, and the laundered funds were transferred back into local accounts.
All three have been charged with:
- Unauthorised Access to Computer Data
- Simple Larceny
- Conspiracy to Defraud
- Engaging in a Transaction Involving Criminal Property
Investigations into the incidents are ongoing as the police partner with the bank to further their investigations.
