A new threat to SVG

Scammers who come to St Vincent and the Grenadines with intentions of obtaining cash by illegal means will only meet a jail cell awaiting them.

This was the promise of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Ruth Jacobs in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday.

“We know what they are doing and we are on to them,” she warned.

In March, three St Lucian nationals – Jammy Jameson Harry, Aaron Kadoo and Mario Chitole – were remanded after being charged with having 121 automatic teller machine (ATM) cards.

Harry is separately charged with stealing a total of EC$15,500 between March 10 and 12, 2017.

Police reported that a fourth non-national male is still on the run.

Last Tuesday, May 16, Jean Samer was apprehended at the Argyle International Airport, after he was found with one black HP-15BA009DX laptop, one black magnetic credit card reader and 10 Sushitto discount cards.

He was sentenced to nine months in prison, and a full-scale investigation was launched into the activities and connections of the St Maarten man.

Jacobs said that although the force has not uncovered any evidence that the cases are related, they remain vigilant to ensure that “scamming” comes to a stop on the island.

“How could you tell me that people could have their money in their accounts and you could come here and by any means scam out and take the people money and go and then you can get away with it,” she said. “It’s not happening!”

On August 12, 2016, the Vincentian Government passed a Cybercrime Act to further combat Internet crimes. (AS)