Adrian Frater, News Editor
Western Bureau
The St James Police Division, which has been considered a hotbed of corruption over recent years, was hit again on Monday with the arrest of seven police personnel accused of breaching the Corruption Prevention Act.
While confirming the arrests in a release to the media, the Constabulary Communication Network only provided limited details on the incident, which involved the seizure of a quantity of ganja and the alleged bribing of the lawmen not to press charges.
"The (police)men were called into a meeting at the Freeport Police Station on Monday, and following the meeting, they were all arrested," a police source told The Gleaner yesterday. "I don't have all the details, but it is yet another black eye for the St James Police Division."
Based on information reaching The Gleaner, during a recent police operation in Montego Bay, the police found a quantity of ganja at the home of a businessman. The man reportedly offered them a bribe not to press charges, which they reportedly accepted.
The policemen accompanied the businessman to several automated teller machines across the city, from which he withdrew $300,000 and gave to them. He was then released without charge.
Subsequent to his release, the man lodged a formal complaint to the police Anti-Corruption Branch, which resulted in the arrest of the policemen.
The St James Police Division was earlier this year badly tarnished when three police personnel were arrested and charged following an incident in which a dangerous prisoner was assisted to escape custody at the Freeport lock-up. The prisoner was subsequently caught at the home of a policewoman.