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'Extortionists are back'
Published: Thursday | July 15, 2010
The police, as well as the heads of the umbrella private sector organisations, have expressed surprise at extortion claims being made by some members of the downtown business district.
Yesterday, some business operators in the downtown commercial district pleaded for plain-clothes policemen to be brought into the area <span style="font-weight: bold">as they have been reeling from an upsurge in robbery, extortion and threats to their establishments over the past three weeks</span>.
The business operators dispatched the SOS in the face of innovative ploys they claim are being mounted against them by extortionists.
"They are watching every move of the police," said one business owner who feared the consequences of being identified.
However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green insisted that plain-clothes policemen are assigned to the area and that indications are that cases of extortion have minimised significantly.
"My understanding is quite the reverse," declared Green in response to questions put to him about the supposed upsurge in extortion.
He told The Gleaner that the police have made several recent arrests in relation to allegations of extortion in the downtown area.
"Suspects have been charged and are being prosecuted," he said.
Green stressed that persons who have been victims of extortion in recent weeks must make a report to have the matter investigated.
"Unless people come to us, there is nothing we can do, but as far as I am concerned the figures are trending downwards," he said.
The senior police officer's surprise was echoed by chairman of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Milton Samuda, while president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Joseph Matalon, said he was unable to comment as he was off the island.
"I have not received one single report," Samuda said.
He added that not even rumblings from the ground had reached his ear.
"I got the sense that people feel that the anti-crime activities were yielding results, so to hear that news of extortion is very disconcerting."
However, a member of the downtown business district claimed that few businesses were being spared as the extortionists - since losing their regular source of income more than a month ago - are becoming increasingly desperate.
The business operator said the affected establishments are not members of the umbrella groups and are fearful of turning to the police.
The Gleaner was directed to an area in which a large establishment was reportedly held up and robbed recently after two strange men were seen prowling the area.
The incident reportedly took place when items were being unloaded from a truck into the establishment and the business operators had dropped their guard.
One business owner said the extortion fee being demanded is $60,000 weekly.
The Gleaner was told that the strategy being employed by the extortionists is that, if their demands are not met, the business operator's establishment would be broken into and goods taken out.
"Not even the vendors, the barber shops and many little shops in the communities and people in the markets are spared," said one business owner. "But it is the wholesales which are taking a battering."
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Published: Thursday | July 15, 2010
The police, as well as the heads of the umbrella private sector organisations, have expressed surprise at extortion claims being made by some members of the downtown business district.
Yesterday, some business operators in the downtown commercial district pleaded for plain-clothes policemen to be brought into the area <span style="font-weight: bold">as they have been reeling from an upsurge in robbery, extortion and threats to their establishments over the past three weeks</span>.
The business operators dispatched the SOS in the face of innovative ploys they claim are being mounted against them by extortionists.
"They are watching every move of the police," said one business owner who feared the consequences of being identified.
However, Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green insisted that plain-clothes policemen are assigned to the area and that indications are that cases of extortion have minimised significantly.
"My understanding is quite the reverse," declared Green in response to questions put to him about the supposed upsurge in extortion.
He told The Gleaner that the police have made several recent arrests in relation to allegations of extortion in the downtown area.
"Suspects have been charged and are being prosecuted," he said.
Green stressed that persons who have been victims of extortion in recent weeks must make a report to have the matter investigated.
"Unless people come to us, there is nothing we can do, but as far as I am concerned the figures are trending downwards," he said.
The senior police officer's surprise was echoed by chairman of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Milton Samuda, while president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Joseph Matalon, said he was unable to comment as he was off the island.
"I have not received one single report," Samuda said.
He added that not even rumblings from the ground had reached his ear.
"I got the sense that people feel that the anti-crime activities were yielding results, so to hear that news of extortion is very disconcerting."
However, a member of the downtown business district claimed that few businesses were being spared as the extortionists - since losing their regular source of income more than a month ago - are becoming increasingly desperate.
The business operator said the affected establishments are not members of the umbrella groups and are fearful of turning to the police.
The Gleaner was directed to an area in which a large establishment was reportedly held up and robbed recently after two strange men were seen prowling the area.
The incident reportedly took place when items were being unloaded from a truck into the establishment and the business operators had dropped their guard.
One business owner said the extortion fee being demanded is $60,000 weekly.
The Gleaner was told that the strategy being employed by the extortionists is that, if their demands are not met, the business operator's establishment would be broken into and goods taken out.
"Not even the vendors, the barber shops and many little shops in the communities and people in the markets are spared," said one business owner. "But it is the wholesales which are taking a battering."
[email protected]
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