A 42-year-old deportee, hailed as one of the major players in Montego Bay's lottery scam, was among several persons detained during several sting operations in St James for their alleged involvement in the scam and credit-card fraud.

The lengthy operations, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green, head of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, took place in Cambridge and other districts in St James.

ACP Green confirmed on Friday that the detained deportee and others were being questioned in connection with the seizure of large amounts of cash, computers and other items believed to be used in the scam.

Major player

The senior cop did not release the identities of those detained. He confirmed that the local police had contacted their US counterparts to assist in gathering information on the deportee.

"The operation was in relation to the lottery scam and credit-card fraud. We believe the deportee is a major player in this field," ACP Green said.

"The operation is ongoing and so far we have seized computers, a significant amount of local and foreign currencies, fraudulent credit cards, credit-card copying devices and other paraphernalia linked to the lottery scam and other fraudulent transactions," ACP Green added.

Up to press time, ACP Green could not say what charges would be brought against the suspects. "We have a lot of information and materials that we have to go through and this could take us some time," said ACP Green.

He said the Jamaican police had previously been in contact with several persons abroad who have been reportedly affected by the scam.

He added that yesterday's operations would also see them making further contacts with more US citizens who might have been swindled. Green, however, did not give further details but said investigations were continuing.

"Some of the persons detained will remain at the Montego Bay lock-up where they will be questioned, while some will be taken to Kingston for further interviews," ACP Green said.