8 lottery scam suspects arrested in Jamaica

Friday, May 18, 2012

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican police have arrested eight people accused of defrauding U.S. citizens through lottery scams.

A police statement said Thursday that officers detained six men and two women after a raid of several homes on a single street in the hills above the capital of Kingston.

Officers also seized five cars, jewelry, eight flat-screen television sets, and nearly $150,000 in cash.

Police say numerous lottery swindlers have fled their Montego Bay base amid a crackdown and relocated to other communities.

They urge residents to “desist from renting houses to them or assisting them in any way.”

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has said that other scam suspects arrested earlier this year have been released on bail.

In recent years, Jamaica has become a center for international telemarketing frauds that target elderly Americans.

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