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Conmen rob would-be drug traffickers

SEVERAL PERSONS HAVE been reportedly caught in a scam in which they are invited to assist in the distribution of narcotics but they are instead robbed.

According to reports reaching THE WEEKEND STAR the scam is carried out by conmen who call persons, usually on their cellular phones, and tell them that they have found a quantity of cocaine and need help to distribute it. The callers tell the persons they will split the profits from the cocaine when it is sold. However, when the unsuspecting persons go to the arranged meeting site with the conmen, they are beaten and robbed.

"Mi just did get di call pon mi cellphone and mi go out deh jus fi see is what really a gwaan," said Anthony Nevers, a victim of the conmen.

According to Nevers, somebody unknown to him called him on his cellular phone and told him that several bales of cocaine had been washed up near Hellshire beach in Portmore, St. Catherine and the caller needed help to distribute it.

Nevers, a 21-year-old unemployed resident of Portmore said he went to Hellshire beach that night and was subsequently pounced on by three men who beat and robbed him of his cellular phone, his jewellery and $3,000 in cash.

Nevers said he did not report the matter to the police.

While the scam involving Nevers took him to Hellshire, other scams have other people going to Milk River in Clarendon, Old Harbour Bay in St. Catherine and Manchioneal in Portland.

Some of the conmen have quite believable stories. One man who received a similar call in August of last year says that the person told him that he was a fisherman and found some bales of cocaine out at sea.

"When him call me he was calling me by a wrong name, so I told him that he had a wrong number. He called me back and said that although is a wrong number him nervous and him need help to get it sold and so I was to come to some part of Manchester where him was hiding it," said Richard Robinson, 40.

Robinson said he never went because it sounded too fishy. "From me hear that me know sey it was some kind of con," he said.

Common sense

The Old Harbour Police say that while they have had no reports of persons actually going to the arranged meeting site, they have heard of the con. "This is one of those cases where people have to use their common sense," said a senior officer who asked that he not be named.

"If it does turn out that there is cocaine and you are held by the police, you are going to be charged with a whole host of offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act, and yuh going to spend some time inna prison. And if it is a scam, you are going to be the loser and you could pay the ultimate price of your life," said the senior cop.

The police's narcotics division has also confirmed hearing of the scam but say they too have received no official reports.

In the meantime, the narcotics division is asking persons who receive these phone calls to make a note of the number and report the incidents to the police.