Former mayor arrested for Swiss Stores heist
A former Jamaica Labour Party mayor is now behind bars after being arrested by cops from the Flying Squad at his home in Retreat, St Thomas, early Tuesday.
He was taken into custody as the probe into the robbery of a Swiss Stores in downtown Kingston last month deepens. Two other persons, including the owner of a pharmacy, were also arrested, in a raid that also took the police to Belfast and Morant Bay in the eastern parish .
Police seized $500,000, a computer, two licensed firearms and several other items during the operation.
The former mayor was expected to undergo a question-and-answer session with Flying Squad detectives in the presence of his attorney yesterday.
His arrest comes more than a week after St Thomas-based JLP activist Kayon ‘Treasure’ Campbell was arrested and charged for robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm and conspiracy to commit robbery in relation to the Swiss Stores incident.
Campbell was charged along with Donald Ho, a downtown Kingston businessman and Norman Robertson from Spanish Town, St Catherine.
Police report that a gunman walked into the store, which is located at the intersection of Church and Harbour streets, and made off with several high-end watches valued at over $7 million.
They suspect that Robertson was the gunman who pulled off the brazen daylight heist.
Last week, when the case was mentioned in the Gun Court, Campbell and Robertson were remanded in custody, while Ho was granted bail.
Police recovered some of the watches shortly after the robbery and 16 others were seized during Flying Squad operations.
The police also seized US$150,000, J$500,000, two licensed shotguns, an illegal weapon, several magazines, more than 500 rounds of assorted ammunition, laptop computers, tablets, a MacIntosh desktop computer, a car radio, white gold jewellery and three smartphones in the first operation.