Highly placed police sources have confirmed that more than 200,000 litres of jet fuel has been stolen from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James.The fuel, valued at $20 million.http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130501/lead/lead4.html.
A group of gunmen staged a late-night raid on the Shell Company plant at Rockfort in East Kingston and made off with more than 133,000 litres of gasoline valued at just over $15 million.“I can confirm that the robbery took place,” Superintendent Arthur Brown of the Kingston Eastern police told the Jamaica Observer .“What I was told was that they were there from about midnight until near 5:00 am,” another of our sources said.Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-15-m-gas-robbery_14058754#ixzz2mS86ViD8.
The police last night declared aid would be sought from international partners as a probe continues in relation to the seizure of a machine which can make ammunition as well as thousands of warheads.http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20131129/lead/lead3.html.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Devon Watkis i/c crime.
I support the Police every day, not particularly because I believe they are smart, effective, or are all honest. I support their efforts because I understand that if Jamaica is to survive, the rule of law must be strengthened. Sometimes however, they make it really difficult to continue to take flack for them, when they continue to do and say the stupidest things. On the occasion of the gasoline thefts Assistant Commissioner of Police Devon Watkis my old friend had this to say”.We believe this to be the work of organized crime.We are conducting this investigation in a holistic way . We are asking members of the public not to buy the stolen gasoline as they will be prosecuted” .
I understand my old friend’s need to consider all the parts of this Investigation but the message we hear coming from this statement is that the little person will be bearing the brunt of the punishment , yet the police is unable to get to the big fish who are orchestrating these brazen crimes. At the risk of beating a dead Horse I have just one question for the Assistant Commissioner. ” How do you propose to go after the little people anyway? Whether it’s in their vehicle or in containers they simply have to contend that they purchased it at a leGal outlet. How will you or your men disprove that claim or better yet how will you prove gasoline is stolen?.….…So the answer cannot be about the gasoline, it must be about the perpetrators of these crimes. That gasoline is most likely used up real fast. Not doing a comprehensive investigation which brings the perpetrators to justice only emboldens them. Even if there was a way to lock up every person who ever purchased every gallon of the stolen petrol, or who helped in the commission of the crime nothing would be solved if the planner is not brought to justice.
One more thing regarding that supposed find at the Wharf involving war-heads. Apart from the foul-up with the reporting and the brouhaha which followed. I just wondered at the way the police handled the thing. After the find, what prevented the police from 1) placing a simple tracking device (available in Jamaica) in the container? 2) Placing undercover detectives there in wait of whomever shows up to clear the shipment? 3)Follow the shipment to see who else is in on it? After blowing all of those opportunities how can the Police expect to convince the public that they are serious about bringing the perpetrators of this crime to Justice? How will they convince foreign counterparts that they are supposedly asking help from they are serious partners? How will they convince the public that they are capable of bringing crime to tolerable levels?