MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A man and a woman have been taken into police custody after they allegedly defrauded a hardware store in Mandeville of material.

Police theorise that the couple and others are involved in a multimillion dollar scheme to defraud hardware stores in Manchester following a series of recent reports from business proprietors.

Police said the couple visited a hardware store on Manchester Road earlier this week after making checks over the phone about material and receiving banking details for the establishment.

“They ordered things and claimed to have lodged a cheque in the hardware’s account and the hardware gave them material on Monday, but before they returned today the hardware checked the bank account and realised that it is a fraud,” said a police source.

The couple returned to the hardware store on Friday morning.

“They came back for additional material and the investigation was ongoing, so the police arrested them,” added the source.

— Kasey Williams